It was scheduled to be a visit to the Election Commission of India (ECI) by a senior team of parliamentarians from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on April 4 , ostensibly to submit a representation on the controversy around duplicate Elector Photo Identification Cards that was signed by the party’s MPs.
But, as gleefully shared by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s spokesperson and also chief of its IT Cell, Amit Malviya, it ended up becoming a slanging match between the TMC’s lawmakers, one that continued well into Friday night on a WhatsApp group of the party’s MPs.
Then, on Tuesday, two senior parliamentarians of the party spoke to the press, blaming each other and confirming that tensions were simmering within the parliamentary contingent of Bengal’s ruling party. The TMC called the spat “demoralising”.
The purported chats feature angry exchanges between Serampore MP Kalyan Banerjee and Bardhaman-Durgapur MP Kirti Azad, with the former saying the latter was”thrown out of the BJP” for “internal politics” and the latter asking the former not to act like “a juvenile delinquent” and accusing him of having had “one too many”.
Kalyan Banerjee’s purported chat also refers to a “versatile international lady”, which is believed to be Krishnanagar MP Mahua Moitra.
Kalyan Banerjee held a press conference on Tuesday where he hit out at Azad and a “woman MP” without naming Moitra, saying the “woman MP” was “rude” and “uncivilised”.
He said the “woman MP” shouted at him because her name was not on the list of signatories to the ECI memorandum. ‘She shouted… that her name had been deliberately removed.”
“She was shouting at the top of her lungs, I was also shouting, no doubt. Immediately, she went to the BSF to (ask them to) arrest me. I have been in politics for 40 years and fought against Congress, CPI(M) and BJP. That woman has no issue other than Adani and Narendra Modi…This woman MP referred to me as a chotolok (lowly person). She also made comments about my daughter. She demands to speak in Parliament for as long as she wishes. Her anger stems from my speech on the Waqf Bill,” Kalyan Banerjee said.
In the press conference, Kalyan Banerjee also named a fourth MP, Dumdum parliamentarian Sougata Ray. “The party’s image was ruined due to many reasons. Hasn’t it been ruined over Sougata Ray’s taking bribes in the Narada scam?…It is in Sougata Ray’s character to pit someone against the other… He is a thief. He took the money after all…I’ll step down once Didi asks me to,” Kalyan Banerjee said.
Ray later told reporters that Moitra was seen crying following the spat, and demanded Kalyan Banerjee be removed as the party’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha.
“I was not there when this altercation between Kalyan Banerjee and Mahua Moitra took place…I saw Mahua crying and complaining to several MPs, of other parties also, about Kalyan’s behaviour…I feel it is beneath my dignity to reply to whatever Kalyan Banerjee may have said. His uncivilised behaviour had been in our focus several times,” Ray said.
Kalyan Banerjee also alleged that a day before the spat, Kirti Azad gathered signatures from several MPs for a letter to the Speaker that requested the opening of a sweet shop named “Shondesh,” located in CR Park, Delhi, at the Parliament Canteen. “I opposed this decision as soon as I learned about it. The letter was never submitted, which caused some frustration directed at me. Who knows what kind of deal was made behind the scenes?” he alleged.
HT reached out to both Moitra and Azad but did not get any response to requests for comments.
The incident came to light when Malviya shared screenshots of a conversation between TMC lawmakers and put out a post on X referring to the argument between party leaders.
“On 4th April 2024, two TMC MPs had a public spat at the headquarters of the Election Commission of India, where they had gone to submit a representation. It appears the party had instructed its MPs to gather at the Parliament office to sign the memorandum before proceeding to the EC. However, the MP carrying the memorandum skipped the Parliament meeting and went directly to the EC.“
He went on to say, “This angered another MP, who confronted him when they came face to face at the Commission. A heated exchange followed, with the two shouting at each other — so much so that one of them asked the police personnel present to intervene.”
Malviya alleged the issue was reported to West Bengal chief minister and TMC supremo, Mamata Banerjee.
The TMC condemned the spat. “The episode between senior leaders is demoralising and embarrassing for common party workers… Kalyan Banerjee is a senior leader, he must have a reason for his anger. The concerned issue has been communicated to the party’s top leadership,” said TMC leader Kunal Ghosh.
According to people in the TMC familiar with the matter, when the delegation of MPs went to ECI last week, and Moitra found her name missing, she was advised by one of her senior colleagues to simply write down her name, but Kalyan Banerjee is believed to have passed a sarcastic remark, resulting in a heated argument.
The matter quickly worsened to such a level that she allegedly asked the CISF jawans who were on duty in the ECI office, to arrest Banerjee, according to these people.
Moitra is believed to have shot off a letter to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, with a copy to Trinamool’s general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, and quit the WhatsApp group for party MPs.
While Banerjee has not officially reacted, according to reports, she has asked both sides to maintain restrain. Moitra’s letter has reached Banerjee.
The people cited above added that the incident reveals fissures in the TMC’s parliamentary party, which is chaired by Mamata Banerjee.