Amid infighting in the Trinamool Congress after a massive loss to the BJP in West Bengal, party MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar’s complaint against fellow TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee, accusing him of misogynistic comments, is set to be referred to a parliamentary committee, HT has learnt. The matter is currently under consideration by the Secretary General of Lok Sabha.
Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, in her letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, alleged that Banerjee “repeatedly verbally abused” her inside the House chambers. “This misogyny was directed against many members and they should be punished for it,” she wrote earlier, when she sought to file the complaint, which she eventually did.
Two days earlier, she resigned from her position as head of the TMC’s women’s wing, saying in her resignation letter that the party had been unable to protect her from mistreatment of her fellow MP, in an apparent reference to Banerjee.
This came after TMC chief Mamata Banerjee decided to replace her as party leader in the Lok Sabha, selecting Kalyan Banerjee to take over the position.
By stepping down from party posts thereafter, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar walked away from the party. Her formal complaint against Kalyan Banerjee sparks a new conflict within the beleaguered TMC.
Accusations of misogyny and verbal abuse among party colleagues are rare in the history of Lok Sabha.
Banerjee on Wednesday hit back at Dastidar, reminding the media of how she was accused of rape $5 lakh in Narada sting operation. He even accused her of supporting illegal unions of raw material suppliers in Kolkata.
“After something happens on the ground, the Speaker should be informed immediately, that is the rule. Any incident should be reported to the Speaker without delay. As for the allegations being made, the question is who said what and when. The problem is their intentions. They seem to be acting on impulse, which raises my suspicions,” Banerjee said in Delhi.
