Kolkata, Dec 2 (IANS) Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee on Tuesday said that what Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to the BJP, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is to the Trinamool Congress.

He said that Mamata Banerjee is the last word when it comes to party affairs in Trinamool Congress.

Without taking anyone’s name, Kalyan Banerjee made it clear that it is Mamata Banerjee who is the face of the party and not party General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

Speaking about rebel MLA from Bharatpur Humayun Kabir on his plan to lay the foundation stone for Babri Masjid in Murshidabad district, Banerjee said, “As long as PM Modi is there, lotus will bloom. If he leaves, no lotus will bloom anywhere. That’s how our Mamata Banerjee is. As long as Mamata is there, no one can do anything. The party runs in her name. What anyone else says doesn’t matter.”

Earlier, Kalyan Banerjee had said, “My leader is Mamata Banerjee. I don’t understand anything before or after her. For me, there is only one leader.”

Notably, there has always been a divide in the party between the old guard and the young leaders. This issue has come up repeatedly in Bengal politics.

General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee was also in favour of setting an age limit within the party. He had said that there is an upper age limit in politics, too. But that did not end the controversy.

Union Minister of State for Education and DoNER, Sukanta Majumdar, said, “There are still several senior leaders like Kalyan Banerjee who are with Mamata Banerjee. There is nothing wrong with the statement of Abhishek Banerjee. In Trinamool, there is only one post.”

–IANS

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