West Bengal: In a new setback for the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal, Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee on Saturday described fellow party leader Mahua Moitra as “below standard” and a “waste of time”, remarks that may intensify the ongoing and long-standing discord between the two.

She doesn’t deserve my attention

Mr Banerjee, a four-time Member of Parliament who recently stepped down as the Trinamool’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha amid signs of internal unrest, alleged that he had been painted as the “bad person” to several colleagues because of Ms Moitra. He stressed that she was not worth his time or attention.

“The lady (Ms Moitra) is not my subject matter. She is very below the standard. There is no point discussing her. I have become bad to several people because of her,” he told reporters in his Srirampur constituency.

“It was a waste of time, I wasted my energy. She doesn’t deserve my attention. It was my mistake that I gave her attention,” he added.

Inspired by advice from junior advocate

The MP also thanked a junior advocate for reaching out to him regarding the dispute.

“I have a junior advocate brother. He texted me. I was inspired by that and realised that Mahua Moitra is no longer a subject matter for me. I have a lot of work to do now,” he said.

At the time of filing this report, Ms Moitra had not responded to the remarks.

Past clashes between the two MPs

According to party sources, frequent confrontations between Mr Banerjee and Ms Moitra, who represents Krishnanagar in the Lok Sabha, have been a source of embarrassment for the TMC leadership. Both have accused each other of using abusive language and showing disregard for basic norms of civil discourse.

Mr Banerjee, however, expressed regret over earlier remarks made against TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

“I have also spoken against didi (Mamata Banerjee). I think it would have been better if I had not said this,” he admitted.

When asked if he had spoken to the Chief Minister on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, he replied, “Didi blessed me. Not once, but thrice.”

Resignation from chief whip post

On 4 July, Mr Banerjee resigned from his post as the TMC’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha, claiming he was being unfairly blamed for poor coordination among MPs, even though some hardly attended Parliament.

In an emotional statement, he said he was “deeply hurt” by the party’s silence over “insults” directed at him by another MP, apparently referring to Ms Moitra.

His resignation came shortly after a virtual meeting of Trinamool MPs chaired by Ms Mamata Banerjee, in which she reportedly voiced displeasure over the lack of coordination in the party’s parliamentary wing.

While Mr Banerjee maintained that his resignation was voluntary, sources say he confided to close associates that he was being made a scapegoat after months of strained relations with Ms Moitra and, earlier, with former cricketer and Trinamool MP Kirti Azad.

Clash over remarks on school policing

The tensions between Mr Banerjee and Ms Moitra escalated after he allegedly made offensive comments when asked about the possible deployment of police inside schools.