Kolkata: Trinamool Congress General Secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee has been appointed as the new leader of the party’s Parliamentary team in the Lower House, replacing senior MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay. The decision was formally announced by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during a virtual meeting held on Monday, which was attended by all Trinamool Congress members from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
During the same meeting, four-time MP Kalyan Banerjee declared his resignation as the Chief Whip of the party in the Lok Sabha. However, there has been no official announcement yet regarding his successor. It also remains unclear whether Abhishek Banerjee will temporarily take on the additional responsibility of Chief Whip along with his new leadership role.
Sources from the meeting indicated that Mamata Banerjee expressed dissatisfaction over the lack of coordination among party MPs in the House, prompting Kalyan Banerjee to step down on what he described as a matter of "moral obligation." A Lok Sabha MP who participated in the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the Chief Minister had hinted that Abhishek Banerjee might perform both roles temporarily until a permanent Chief Whip is named.
The same MP noted that Mamata Banerjee has given Abhishek Banerjee the authority to assign which party MPs will speak on specific topics in the Lok Sabha, although each such decision will require her approval.
According to party insiders, Kalyan Banerjee has been under scrutiny from the leadership in recent weeks, particularly after a public dispute with fellow party MP Mahua Moitra. The controversy stemmed from Banerjee’s comments on a rape incident involving a law college student in Kasba, south Kolkata, which drew criticism and sparked a sharp response from Moitra. The situation escalated when Banerjee made personal remarks about Moitra’s recent marriage to senior Supreme Court advocate and former Lok Sabha MP Pinaki Misra.
With IANS inputs