Balurghat: TMC suspends 19 party leaders for ‘anti-party activities’

BALURGHAT: As many as 19 Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders were suspended from the party for ‘anti-party activities’ and for their involvement in contesting as Independent candidates for the upcoming Panchayat elections ignoring the direction of the state party leadership, district Trinamool Congress president of South Dinajpur Mrinal Sarkar informed on Sunday at a press conference in Gangarampur.

“As per instruction of the state party leadership, we have suspended 19 party leaders due to their involvement in anti-party practice. A few of these leaders are contesting the upcoming rural polls from this district ignoring the instruction of the party leadership. We had warned them before not to be involved in any such practices but they did not pay any heed,” Sarkar said.

According to him, a few of these leaders have joined other parties, including Congress and BJP for contesting the rural polls as they were not given the TMC tickets.

“We have taken action against them as per the instruction of the state leadership. The leaders who are contesting in the rural polls as Independent candidates will never be brought back to our party in the future as they have maligned our party,” he said.

Of these 19 leaders, three are from Banshihari Block, six from Gangarampur, two are from Hili, five are from Kumarganj and one each from Harirampur, Tapan and Kushmandi.

“We had specific information about those leaders that they had been involved in anti-party practices before the rural elections. We are doing politics of principle and the directive of our party chairperson Mamata Banerjee and leader Abhishek Banerjee. This election is a fight for democracy, restricting and defeating the communal force. The traitors have no place in our party,” Sarkar added.