A day after high political drama where the rebel MLAs of TMC removed party supremo Mamata Banerjee and her nephew and national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee from their respective party posts, the TMC high command retaliated, with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) expelling eight senior leaders from the party on Tuesday. The leaders expelled include Javed Ahmed Khan, Firhad Hakim, Arup Roy, Rathin Ghosh, Biplab Mitra, Sabina Yasmin, Aroop Biswas and Snehasis Chakraborty.
Additionally, the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) has issued show-cause notices to these leaders, accusing them of deliberately engaging in anti-party activities.
TMC cracks down on rebel leaders
The action comes amid a growing organisational rebellion within the party. A rebel faction led by West Bengal Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee on Monday announced a new leadership structure for the All India Trinamool Congress Committee and appointed Arup Roy as its chairperson.
The rebel group also formed a 30-member National Working Committee (NWC). At the same time, it repeated its demand that former chief minister Mamata Banerjee should take on the role of mentor in the party.
Rebels unveil parallel leadership
Addressing reporters on Monday, Ritabrata Banerjee said Arup Roy had been unanimously elected as the Chairperson of the All India Trinamool Congress. He also announced that former minister Aroop Biswas and MLA Firhad Hakim would serve as vice-chairpersons.
“A special session of the All India Trinamool Congress was organised here today. During this session, the All India Trinamool Congress Committee and the NWC were constituted through a unanimous election of delegates. Arup Roy has been elected as the Chairperson of the All India Trinamool Congress,” Ritabrata Banerjee said.
He added that the 30-member committee includes Firhad Hakim, Arup Biswas, Rathin Ghosh, Sabina Yasmin, Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha and others. Firhad Hakim, Arup Biswas, Rathin Ghosh and Sabina Yasmin were also named vice-presidents of the party.
According to Ritabrata Banerjee, district presidents and district committees will be formed in the coming days.
“We have repeatedly stated our stance regarding Mamata Banerjee’s role within the TMC. We want ‘Didi’ to assume the responsibility of a mentor and guide us,” he said.
How the Trinamool internal rift started
The rift began after the party’s Assembly election defeat and deepened over a signature-mismatch controversy. Rebel MLAs alleged that signatures on a letter sent to Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose regarding key Assembly posts had been forged. As the dispute intensified, divisions within the party became public. The split widened after Ritabrata Banerjee secured support from 58 MLAs to become Leader of the Opposition, drawing more leaders and MPs into the rebel camp.
