All India General Secretary of the Trinamool Congress and Member of Parliament Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday said when a “party starts to grow, then internal rifts are bound to happen, but this does not allow anyone to do anything they want”.
Speaking to mediapersons Banerjee said, “Are there no internal rifts in the BJP or the CPI(M)? Internal conflicts exist among families as well. With thousands of party members, it is normal to have rifts. Do employees not have conflicts among them at the workplace? The party has always taken action against someone who does not comply with the party’s discipline. The administration takes the required action as well. CM Mamata Banerjee has clarified her stance.”
Banerjee said he had a message for all TMC workers, “People elect us, and hence we need to be humble. The party’s doors will be closed for those who think highly of themselves and try to showcase power. We are a people’s party and there is a basic difference between Trinamool and the opposition parties.”
Banerjee’s statement comes at a time when an apparent rift within the TMC has come to the fore, with party chief Mamata Banerjee coming down heavily on ministers known to be close to Banerjee. The source of the continuing tension between Abhishek Banerjee and the party supremo, according to TMC insiders, is a much-delayed organisational reshuffle in the party.
The MP further said that in the murder case of TMC worker Dulal Sarkar on January 2 in Malda, the police have taken action and arrested the accused “even though he was from the ruling party”. Banerjee also said that in the RG Kar rape and murder case, “police arrested the accused within 24 hours.”
On Tuesday, another party leader was murdered in Malda and a third was shot at — allegedly due to party infighting. TMC worker Ataul Haque alias Hasu Sheikh succumbed at the spot. Meanwhile Bakul Sheikh and former panchayat chief Esaruddin Sheikh were injured in the attack.
“Bad people exist everywhere in society. Crimes and misdeeds happen everywhere, however, the number of good people surpasses the number of bad people. Can you forget the crimes by the CPI(M) or the BJP members? We always maintain a zero-tolerance policy. A booth-level party member, as well as I, have to maintain the party discipline,” said Banerjee.
Meanwhile, on why the TMC is supporting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections and not the Congress, Banerjee said, “When the INDIA bloc was formed, we had decided that wherever the regional parties are strong, let them take the fight against BJP. For example, DMK in Tamil Nadu and JMM in Jharkhand. So, in Delhi, who do you think can beat the BJP? It’s the AAP.”