Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], July 4 (ANI): Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Kunal Ghosh on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the party's rebel faction following the resignation of Chandrima Bhattacharya, challenging them to provide evidence of their ongoing work at the grassroots level.
Ghosh questioned the intent behind Bhattacharya's departure, labelling it as a "pre-planned" move rather than a spontaneous reaction to party grievances. He asserted that her sudden discontent appeared only after the transition in leadership, noting that she had previously held significant portfolios under Mamata Banerjee's administration without complaint.
Reacting to the exit of Bhattacharya, who served in multiple key portfolios during Mamata Banerjee's tenure as Chief Minister, Ghosh labelled the move as "pre-planned". He highlighted that her son had already switched to the opposing camp, suggesting that her departure was an orchestrated defection rather than a sudden decision.
"Chandrima Bhattacharya was a respected figure to us. When Mamata Didi was Chief Minister, she held the most portfolios and felt no grievances while being entrusted with one important ministry after another. Now that Didi is no longer the Chief Minister and has nothing left to offer, she suddenly feels aggrieved," Ghosh stated.
Referring to the recent incident involving the locking of the state party office in Kolkata, Ghosh remarked that the entire situation could have been averted had Bhattacharya stayed for just an additional fifteen or thirty minutes.
Addressing broader reports of a rebel faction within the party taking control of the state office, the TMC leader launched a scathing attack on the defectors' commitment to their constituencies.
"They are visiting BJP offices and hotels, travelling to Delhi, and making grand speeches in the Assembly. Show me a single photograph of them sitting in their constituency's party office, working alongside Trinamool cadres or serving the public," Ghosh challenged.
Chandrima Bhattacharya on Saturday termed former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's remarks accusing her of "handing over" the Trinamool Bhavan to the Ritabrata Banerjee-led rebel faction as the reason behind her resignation from the party.
Bhattacharya's resignation comes at a time of high drama in West Bengal politics, as the property owner of the TMC's state party office in Kolkata locked the premises from the inside following reports that a rebel faction, led by Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Ritabrata Banerjee, had taken possession of the building.
In her resignation letter addressed to Mamata Banerjee, Bhattacharya stated that she was stepping down from the post of State President conferred upon her in June 2026. She also withdrew herself as the authorised signatory for the party's bank accounts and as 'Didi's' authorised person before the Election Commission of India.
"I hereby tender my resignation from the post of State President of All India Trinamool Congress... I also hereby resign from all other posts which I hold at present. Please note that I withdraw myself as the authorised signatory... in respect of the accounts maintained in Various Banks. I also withdraw myself from being your authorised person before the Election Commission of India," the letter read. (ANI)
