‘Choose me or Abhishek’: Kalyan Banerjee’s ultimatum to Mamata amid TMC civil war
Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee on Thursday dramatically escalated the party's internal turmoil, issuing a blunt ultimatum to party supremo and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee: choose between him and her nephew, party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
A long-time Mamata loyalist, Kalyan launched a scathing attack on Abhishek, accusing him of arrogance, disrespect and sidelining senior leaders.
"I am still with Didi but won't tolerate Abhishek Banerjee's arrogance. I have quit all cases related to Banerjee," he said.
The outburst comes amid the ongoing signature forgery controversy and a widening crisis within the TMC following a string of resignations by Rajya Sabha MPs.
Explaining his decision to withdraw from cases involving Abhishek, Kalyan alleged that he was deliberately kept out of legal developments despite working extensively on the matter.
He claimed he spent an entire night preparing arguments and had personally secured an urgent hearing before the Calcutta High Court after searches were conducted at the offices of Mamata and Abhishek Banerjee.
According to Kalyan, he was informed at the last minute that a separate writ petition had already been filed and that another senior lawyer would handle the case.
‘If the matter was already filed, why was there no discussion with us? This is completely illegal," he said.
‘I deserve some respect. Their habit of showing disrespect has not changed. He thinks everyone is beneath him, as if everyone is an employee from Camac Street,' Kalyan said, directly targeting Abhishek Banerjee.
His remarks came shortly after the Calcutta High Court heard Abhishek Banerjee's plea linked to allegations that forged signatures of MLAs were submitted to the Bengal Assembly.
While Kalyan has spent the past several days attacking rebel MPs who quit the party, his latest broadside against Abhishek and the ultimatum to Mamata Banerjee have intensified speculation about a deepening power struggle within the TMC.