West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee has been “very upset” ever since the videos captured a heated argument between party MPs. TMC sources said that Banerjee has instructed all party legislators not to lose their cool and not give media interviews.
The TMC was left in a sensitive situation following the BJP’s circulation of videos and screenshots of the fight among senior party leaders. The head of the BJP IT cell, Amit Malviya, posted the videos and WhatsApp messages on social media saying that senior TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee and another legislator named unknown had been involved in an argument. This meeting allegedly occurred on April 4 at the Election Commission of India headquarters when the TMC delegation had visited there to make a representation.
The footage, as posted by Malviya, appears to show Kalyan Banerjee expressing frustration towards the other MP, who TMC’s Saugata Roy later confirmed was Mahua Moitra. In the video, Kalyan Banerjee is heard stating, “They are so unruly,” and, “Saying will get me arrested.” Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien can be seen attempting to mediate the situation, urging, “We are in a public space, brother, I’m pleading with you.”
Both Saugata Roy and Kalyan Banerjee, reacting to the controversy, held separate press conferences, defying Mamata Banerjee’s instruction to have less media interaction. Roy acknowledged that Mahua Moitra was indeed a part of the exchange, condemning Kalyan Banerjee’s behavior as “intemperate” and “unacceptable.” He expressed concern about Moitra’s emotional health, recalling, “I saw Mahua was crying in Parliament. She was going to complain about Kalyan’s behaviour.”
Kalyan Banerjee, not directly referring to Moitra, claimed that her grief was because of her signature lacking on the memorandum addressed to the Election Commission. “She was shouting at the top of her voice, and I did likewise. Meanwhile, she went running to the BSF and asked them to arrest me!” he remembered, detailing the drama.
As the TMC navigates through this internal crisis, party leadership is busy putting out the fires caused by the incident in a bid to come together before the impending political battle.
