TMC disciplinary committee will take final call on Sabyasachi: Hakim

Kolkata: The disciplinary committee of Trinamool Congress will take the final call regarding Sabyasachi Dutta- the Mayor of Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC), said state Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim on Sunday. Dutta has been under the party's scanner for his anti-party statements.

Hakim held a meeting with the councillors of BMC at Trinamool Bhavan. "I conducted the meeting as an observer. The councillors have given their opinion on the issue. I will submit the report to our party chief. It is the responsibility of everyone to maintain discipline of the party while he/she is with the party. If somebody does not toe the party line then the disciplinary committee will take its stand and our supremo will take the final decision in this regard," Hakim told reporters after the meeting.

He added that he has taken stock of the work of BMC from the councillors in the meeting. Highly placed sources in the party who attended the meeting said that Deputy Mayor Tapas Chatterjee has been given some additional responsibilities regarding the affairs of BMC. The Mayor-in-Councils' meeting scheduled on Monday is also likely to be conducted under the leadership of Chatterjee.

It may be mentioned that the meeting with the councillors of BMC was convened on Saturday but no

invitation was extended to Dutta, who had led the workers of the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited on Friday to Bidyut Bhavan, demanding hike in their salary.

He held state Power minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay responsible for failing to increase salaries of the employees and threatened that there will be no power supply if this situation continues. Trinamool Congress took a strong exception to the speech and hurriedly called a meeting of the councillors of BMC.

For quite some time, a rumour has been doing the rounds that Dutta would join the saffron brigade. It had gathered momentum when Mukul Roy had visited Dutta's house before the general election. However, Dutta had then dismissed the rumour of him joining BJP.

It has been learnt that some councillors had alleged Dutta hobnobbing with BJP. Proving that their allegation is not without basis, Mukul Roy told newsmen on Sunday: "Because of Sabyasachi it was a smooth sailing for BJP."

It may be recalled that Trinamool Supremo Mamata Banerjee had become annoyed with Dutta because of the poor performance of the party in the New Town Rajarhat Assembly segment. In 2014, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar had taken a lead of over 73,000 votes from the segment, which has fallen drastically in 2019.

Dutta said he had gone to attend the meeting being the president of the union of the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited and he had not done anything that went against the interests of the party.