‘Congress still grappling with expulsion of Mamata from party’

Kolkata: Former state president of Congress Pradip Bhattacharya made a startling revelation where he said that the Congress is still grappling with the consequences of the expulsion of Mamata Banerjee, which weakened its position in Bengal. This has triggered a political row.

Bhattacharya claimed the then Congress state president Somen Mitra had expelled Banerjee in 1997 following instructions from the then party chief Sitaram Kesri due to her comments against the party line. He also claimed that he had advised Mitra against the decision but the pressure from the high command was immense. Bhattacharya’s remark has given enough food for thought as to why he issued such a statement now.

Bhattacharya made the comments on Saturday in Kolkata at the unveiling ceremony of a bust of Somen Mitra, who died in 2020. Bhattacharya’s comments may again trigger internal disruptions

within Congress. Many party members within the Congress have questioned the timing. Former Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also questioned the timing of the comments, apparently hinting at its link to the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in the state.

Senior Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh said Bhattacharya was correct in what he said. The Congress in the state was aligned with the Left Front, which contributed to its decline, Ghosh added. Bhattacharya, who was the state president of the Congress from January 2011 to February 2014 and a former MP said the party must focus on rebuilding its base.

Mamata Banerjee, who is now a three-term chief minister, formed the Trinamool Congress in 1998 after being expelled from the Congress. She spearheaded the movement against the erstwhile Left Front government and finally uprooted the 34-year government of the CPI(M)-led Left Front in 2011.

After Mamata Banerjee formed Trinamool Congress, Ajit Panja had left the Congress and joined her party in 1998 and became the Union minister of state for External Affairs in the NDA government of AB Vajpayee. Somen Mitra, Sudip Bandopadhyay the then state Congress stalwarts later switched sides to join Mamata’s party.