Kolkata, June 23 (IANS) Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the “real” Trinamool Congress, party MP Saugata Roy on Tuesday claimed that 90 per cent of workers are still with party supremo Mamata Banerjee.

His reaction came a day after the Trinamool Congress faction led by Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Ritabrata Banerjee, removed Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee from the rebel faction of the party.

Speaking to IANS, Saugata Roy said: “A meeting was held at Novotel hotel in Kolkata’s New Town, which itself shows that this breakaway faction is moving in a particular direction. Someone must have funded such a large gathering at the hotel. This entire episode is a joke and a circus.”

Emphasising that the Trinamool Congress was formed by Mamata Banerjee, the MP added that the party supremo built the party through a “lot of struggle”.

“From just 29 MLAs, the party came to power in Bengal within five years. Those who have formed a committee by leaving Mamata Banerjee have no significance,” he said.

Regarding which faction will keep the Trinamool Congress’ symbol, Roy said: “The allocation of a party symbol is decided by the Election Commission of India under The Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. We will present whatever we have to say before the Commission.”

“If we are called, we will respond there. The main point is that around 90 per cent of Trinamool Congress workers are with Mamata Banerjee,” he added.

The Trinamool MP also claimed: “The MLAs belonging to the (Ritabrata-led) faction won’t get even 10,000 votes on their own.”

Saugata Roy has asked not to call the Ritabrata Banerjee-led Trinamool faction as ‘rebel’, saying: “Rebel is a big word, don’t call them rebels. Call them opponents instead.”

“A committee which is formed sitting inside a hotel, does not hold any relevance among the public,” he remarked.

On three of Trinamool’s bank accounts being freezed, Roy said: “These dissenting people had used money from the party’s accounts during election. Now only they know from where they will get money from, maybe the Bharatiya Janata Party will give them money.”

Moreover, the veteran Trinamool MP added that if he is to name any one of the dissenting MPs whose decision hurt him the most, it would be Firhad Hakim.

“He (Firhad Hakim) was a just a Trinamool worker, who became a Councillor and Mamata Banerjee made him the Mayor and also a Minister. We were not that close to Mamata Banerjee but he even travelled with her in the same car after work. I don’t know how much greed they have,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Mamata Banerjee-aligned faction in the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has written to the Election Commission of India (ECI), furnishing details of what it claims is the party’s original national working committee.

–IANS

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