Kunal Ghosh said he is a soldier of the party and will continue to work for the party (File)
Kolkata:
Senior Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh, who has been vocal about giving more importance to the next generation of leaders in the party, said he wants to resign from all posts and criticized a section of old leaders in the party for colluding with the BJP. of.
Mr Ghosh, who holds the post of party spokesperson and state general secretary, dismissed rumors of joining any other party, saying he felt he did not fit within the system.
I am @AITCofficial I do not want to become its state general secretary and spokesperson. I am a misfit in the system. I am unable to run tasks. I will remain a team soldier. Please do not tolerate rumors of defection. @MamataOfficial My Leader @AbhishekITC my commander @AITCofficial My…
– Kunal Ghosh (@KunalGhoshAgain) 1 March 2024
“I do not want to hold the post of state general secretary and spokesperson. I am a misfit in the system. I am unable to continue like this. I am a soldier of the party and will continue to work for the party.” , Please stop this rumor that I am planning to attend another party,” he posted on X.
Later, speaking to a Bengali news channel, he criticized a section of senior party leaders for insulting him and behaving as if it was the “fiefdom of a few leaders”.
“They are behaving as if TMC is the fiefdom of a few leaders. In North Kolkata, we have Sudip Bandopadhyay who is more of a BJP leader than a TMC MP. He is behaving like another Shajahan Shaikh. He is soft towards the BJP. Because corruption cases are being investigated by the BJP,” he said.
Former TMC leader Shajahan Shaikh is one of the key accused in the Sandeshkhali case.
“Across Bengal, TMC is fighting against the BJP on 41 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats. But in North Kolkata, it is BJP versus BJP because Sudip Bandopadhyay is in league with the BJP,” he said.
Mr Bandopadhyay was not available for comment.
Mr Ghosh, considered close to Abhishek Banerjee, had said last year that older leaders needed to know when to step aside for the next generation.
Following this, Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee issued a stern warning and directed party leaders to refrain from discussing the differences in public, and stressed that any violation could lead to disciplinary action. .
The controversy erupted in November when Ms Banerjee advocated respect for senior members and rejected the notion that senior leaders should retire from active politics.
Abhishek Banerjee, TMC national general secretary and Ms Banerjee’s nephew, supported the retirement age in politics, citing decline in work efficiency and productivity with increasing age.
The party appears divided on the issue, with senior leaders unwilling to adopt the maximum age limit principle proposed by Abhishek Banerjee, and the youth brigade wanting more space in the party.
This ongoing controversy is reminiscent of the two-year-old internal conflict between the old faction and the young faction within the TMC.
In January 2022, amid rumors of an alleged power struggle, Mamata Banerjee dissolved all national office-bearers’ committees, including her nephew’s post of national general secretary.
Subsequently, a new committee was formed and Abhishek Banerjee was reinstated as the national general secretary of the party.
Since then, he has not only gained prominence within the party but is also considered the de facto number two in the state’s ruling dispensation.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
