New Delhi: Trinamool Congress MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar on Thursday accused fellow party MP Kalyan Banerjee of verbally abusing her inside the Lok Sabha. She urged Speaker Om Birla to take action against him, stating that other women members of the House have also faced his misogyny.
Internal Party Strife Intensifies
This complaint underscores the deep churn within the Trinamool Congress, which has been in organizational disarray since its dispiriting defeat to the Bharatiya Janata Party in the West Bengal assembly elections. The incident comes a day after Dastidar, a four-term Lok Sabha MP, resigned from all her posts in the regional party.
Previous Conflicts
Although Dastidar did not name any other MP, Mahua Moitra has previously been involved in a bitter war of words with Banerjee. Moitra had criticized misogynistic elements within her party following a political row over the RG Kar Medical College rape-murder case.
Banerjee's Response
Kalyan Banerjee hit back at Dastidar, stating, "If any incident had actually occurred inside the House, it should have been brought to the Speaker's notice immediately in keeping with parliamentary procedure. Raising such allegations much later naturally raises questions about the intent and timing behind them."
Leadership Shifts
Trinamool Congress President Mamata Banerjee had replaced Kalyan Banerjee with Dastidar as the party's chief whip in Lok Sabha last year. However, after the assembly poll results, she reinstated him, drawing an angry reaction from Dastidar. Both were once considered close to the Mamata-led old guard before the recent churn.
