Stern action to be taken against leaders breaking party's discipline: TMC

KOLKATA: Reacting to the controversy stirred up by Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Kalyan Banerjee, party's secretary general Partha Chattopadhyay on Friday said the party would take stern action against leaders, who would break its discipline.

A day after Kalyan Banerjee disagreed with the statement that all political programmes and religious festivals should be stopped in the state due to the surge in cases, Chattopadhyay called up the former—who is Trinamool Congress' chief whip in Lok Sabha—and asked him to refrain from making anti-party statements to the press.

Chattopadhyay said in case of any differences, the matter should be discussed within the party and press statements should not be made.

Earlier in the day, Aparupa Podder, Trinamool Congress' Lok Sabha MP, demanded that Kalyan Banerjee should be removed from the post of chief whip in Lok Sabha.

Banerjee on Thursday criticised a statement made by Abhishek Banerjee, Trinamool Congress national general-secretary, who had said last week that it was his personal view that for two months political meetings and religious gatherings should be stopped in view of the rise in the number of Covid cases in

the state.

On Thursday, Kalyan Banerjee had said his leader was Mamata Banerjee and wanted to know whether Abhishek had taken permission from her before making such a statement.

Kalyan Banerjee further said Abhishek should have criticised the Election Commission of India for holding Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa.