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Rebel MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar attacks unnamed former colleague, questions her political credentials, claims support of 20 MPs as TMCs rift with Mamata Banerjee camp widens.
Rebel MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar attacks unnamed former colleague, questions her political credentials, claims support of 20 MPs as TMCs rift with Mamata Banerjee camp widens.
The rift within the Trinamool Congress (TMC) widened on Monday as rebel MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar appeared to take a swipe at a former party colleague, questioning her political credentials and accusing her of seeking publicity.
Speaking to CNN-News18, Ghosh Dastidar said some of the leaders now defending the Trinamool Congress leadership were not around when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee began her political journey.
“None of these people were around when Mamata Banerjee started in 1976. I think the woman who is tweeting from some foreign country was not even born at that time. She was not a politician then, and she is still not a politician,” Ghosh Dastidar said.
The remarks came amid escalating tensions within the party and hours after Ghosh Dastidar submitted signatures to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla as part of the ongoing political developments involving dissident Trinamool Congress MPs.
‘Seeking Media Attention’
When asked about leaders who have continued to stand by Mamata Banerjee and the party leadership, the rebel MP dismissed their political credentials and questioned their motives.
“Let me tell you one thing. You said there are certain people who have been with Mamata Banerjee for a very long time. She is a woman seeking media attention for her own publicity,” Ghosh Dastidar told CNN-News18.
The comments appeared to be a response to recent criticism from a senior Trinamool Congress leader who had accused MPs allegedly seeking to join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) of being “greedy” and “self-serving traitors”. However, Ghosh Dastidar did not name anyone during her remarks.
Rebel Camp Claims Support of 20 MPs
Ghosh Dastidar, who claims to have the support of 20 parliamentarians, has emerged as one of the prominent faces of the dissident group challenging the Trinamool Congress leadership.
Her latest remarks underline the growing divide within the party as rebel MPs continue to push back against criticism from leaders aligned with the Mamata Banerjee camp.
The rebel MP’s comments also highlighted her long association with Banerjee, with Ghosh Dastidar suggesting that many of those now defending the party leadership were not part of the movement during its formative years.
Political Tensions Escalate
The public exchange marks the latest chapter in the escalating confrontation between rebel MPs and the Trinamool Congress leadership.
With dissident leaders making their positions increasingly public and the party leadership facing criticism from within, the internal standoff is expected to remain a key political issue in West Bengal in the coming weeks.
Neither the Trinamool Congress leadership nor the leader who made the earlier remarks had publicly responded to Ghosh Dastidar’s comments at the time of writing.
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