Kolkata, June 22 (IANS) The Trinamool Congress faction led by Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly Ritabrata Banerjee has removed party supremo Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool general secretary Abhishek Banerjee from the rebel faction of the party.

At the same time, the rebel camp of Trinamool MLAs formed a new committee at a special session held at a five-star hotel in Kolkata on Monday. The new chairman of that committee is Howrah Madhya Assembly MLA Arup Roy.

On Monday, after the budget session in the state Assembly, the rebel MLAs of Trinamool held a meeting at the hotel. About 60 MLAs were present, along with around 70 former councillors of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC). It was announced that a committee of 30 Trinamool members would be formed.

The rebel camp cited Article 20 of the Trinamool Party constitution, which requires a national working committee meeting every three years. Since no such meeting was held after 2022, the national working committee was dissolved with a proposal.

The Ritabrata Banerjee faction then formed a new national working committee, chaired by MLA Arup Roy. A vice-president and treasurer were also chosen.

Former state minister Aroop Biswas was named vice-chairman of the new committee. In addition, MLAs Firhad Hakim and Rathin Ghosh were also made vice-chairmen. Ritabrata Banerjee, Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha, and Sabina Yasmin were chosen as general secretaries, while Akhruzzaman was appointed treasurer.

It is worth noting that the banner hung at the rebels’ meeting on Monday did not feature Mamata Banerjee’s photograph. Instead, it displayed pictures of Mahatma Gandhi, B.R. Ambedkar, Rabindranath Tagore, and Kazi Nazrul Islam.

Ever since the debacle in the state Assembly elections, rebellion has grown inside Trinamool. The unrest began around the signature mismatch case, which raised questions about Assembly rules regarding the Leader of the Opposition, Deputy Leader, and Chief Whip. Allegations surfaced that Abhishek Banerjee sent a letter to Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose, signed by Trinamool MLAs, in which some signatures were allegedly forged.

The allegations were first made public by Uluberia Uttar MLA Ritabrata Banerjee and Entally MLA Sandipan Saha. The argument continued for several days, and the split in the party gradually became clear. Trinamool’s power began to loosen from Mamata Banerjee’s hands. In the first phase, Ritabrata was made Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly with the support of 58 MLAs.

That marked the beginning of the split. Later, close aides of Mamata, including Firhad Hakim, also joined the rebellion camp. The split extended beyond the Legislative Party to the Parliamentary party in Lok Sabha, where 20 MPs left Trinamool and joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India.

However, Kunal Ghosh, Trinamool MLA from Beleghata, dismissed Monday’s meeting. After visiting Mamata’s Kalighat residence, he said Trinamool and Mamata Banerjee were synonymous, adding that with the structure of the party, the rebels did not have the authority to do this.

–IANS

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