In a swift move, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leadership on Tuesday accepted the resignation of Kalyan Banerjee as the party’s chief whip in Lok Sabha, and replaced him with Barasat MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar. Satabdi Roy, the TMC MP from Birbhum, has been appointed the deputy leader of the TMC parliamentary party in the Lok Sabha, a post previously held by Dastidar.
“Shri Kalyan Banerjee submitted his resignation yesterday to the Chairperson from the post of Chief Whip of the @AITCofficial Parliamentary Party in the Lok Sabha. The Chairperson has accepted his resignation and thanked him for his contributions in that role,” the TMC posted on its official X handle.
“In consultation with senior parliamentarians, the chairperson has nominated Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar as the new Chief Whip of the @AITCofficial in the Lok Sabha and Smt Satabdi Roy as the new Deputy Leader of the AITC in the Lok Sabha with immediate effect,” the party added.
Kalyan Banerjee quickly posted on his X handle: “To the Chairperson, Thanks for accepting my resignation. Regards. Kalyan Banerjee.”
Just before the TMC announced the decision on its X handle, Kalyan Banerjee, who was vociferous since last evening over TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee highlighting “lack of coordination” in Lok Sabha during an internal meeting, made a fresh salvo against party colleague Mahua Moitra.
“In 2023, I stood by Ms. Moitra when she was under fire in Parliament — I did so out of conviction, not compulsion. Today, she repays that support by calling me a misogynist. I owe the nation an apology for having defended someone who clearly lacks basic gratitude. Let people see her words for what they are and judge accordingly,” the TMC MP from Serampore wrote on his X handle and shared an eight-minute-old video of his 2023 Lok Sabha speech in which he had defended Moitra in the “cash for query” issue.
Less than 24 hours ago, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee chaired a meeting with all TMC MPs on Monday evening, where she appointed her nephew and second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee, the leader of the TMC parliamentary party in Lok Sabha, replacing an ailing Sudip Bandopadhyay. At the meeting, she, without naming anyone, said that two to three MPs were “bringing the party into disrepute” and “no individual is bigger than the organisation”. The TMC chief’s comments came as a feud between Kalyan Banerjee and Mahua Moitra erupted once again, months after they were involved in an altercation on the premises of the Election Commission’s office in Delhi.
Immediately after the meeting, Kalyan Banerjee announced his resignation and said that Abhishek Banerjee had asked him to wait till August 7.
“Didi (Mamata) made the point that proper coordination is not happening in the Lok Sabha. If I am guilty of that … that’s why I resigned. Abhishek Banerjee spoke to me for 10 minutes. He advised me not to step down and that he would discuss the matter on August 7 when he comes here,” he said.
“Does Mamata Banerjee know how the work in Parliament is going on? I did the work I was assigned, but I am not a scholar from Oxford or Cambridge and do not wear expensive sarees. Those who criticise Mamata Banerjee are being rewarded (by her),” he added, referring to Mahua.
Meanwhile, TMC leaders said the leadership overhaul leaves little doubt that Mamata Banerjee is seeking to restore discipline in her parliamentary ranks with an iron hand.
“It’s a message to all those who think they are bigger than the party. There was a need to send out a strong message,” PTI quoted an unnamed senior TMC leader as saying.
What the reshuffle signifies
The twin appointments of Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Satabdi Roy, both known to enjoy the confidence of Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, mark a carefully calibrated move aimed at restoring both discipline and gender balance within the party’s parliamentary team.