The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Tuesday expelled eight senior leaders, including Firhad Hakim and Arup Roy, after they joined a rebel faction that announced a leadership structure parallel to the party.
Those expelled include Javed Ahmed Khan, Farhad Hakim, Arup Roy, Ratin Ghosh, Biplab Mitra, Sabina Yasmin, Arup Biswas and Snehasis Chakraborty. that I The news agency reported.
Earlier in the day, the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) issued show-cause notices to the leaders, accusing them of indulging in anti-party activities.
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Madan Mitra as the party’s new whip
The party also moved to replace Firhad Hakim as chief whip in the West Bengal Assembly. On Monday night, the TMC wrote to Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee to nominate MLA Madan Mitra as the new chief whip.
Suvandeep Chattopadhyay, a senior TMC leader, visited the Speaker’s Office on Tuesday to submit a hard copy of the communication, but the office refused to accept it, referring to the matter as a “branch of the judiciary”.
According to the party, an official email had already been sent the night before.
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Why were Farhad Hakim and others expelled?
This action came a day after a rebel faction led by the leader of the opposition in West Bengal, Ritabrata Banerjee, announced a leadership structure parallel to the party.
The group appointed Arup Roy as president of the All India Trinamool Congress and formed a 30-member National Working Committee (NWC).
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Ritabrata Banerjee said that Arup Roy was unanimously elected president during a special session attended by party delegates.
“A special session of the All India Trinamool Congress was organized here today. During this session, a committee of the All India Trinamool Congress and the NWC was constituted by unanimously electing delegates.
Arup Roy has been elected president of the All India Trinamool Congress.”
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Movement of rebel factions
The rebel faction also appointed former minister Arup Biswas and MLA Firhad Hakim as vice-presidents. The 30-member committee included Farhad Hakim, Arup Biswas, Ratin Ghosh, Sabina Yasmin, Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha and others, Banerjee said, adding that district chairpersons and district committees would be formed in the coming days.
“We have repeatedly made clear our position regarding Mamata Banerjee’s role within the TMC. We want Didi to take on the mantle of mentor and guide us,” he said.
Ritabrata Banerjee questioned the legality of decisions taken by the rival faction during a meeting of the National Action Committee headed by Mamata Banerjee.
These developments represent a sharp escalation in the organizational crisis within the ruling party, as the rival camp seeks to create a parallel structure while emphasizing that Mamata Banerjee should continue to act as the party’s guide.
