TMC suspends Santanu Sen and Arabul Islam

Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday suspended its former Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen and ex-MLA Arabul Islam for alleged “anti-party activities”, party’s vice-president Jayprakash Majumdar said.

Sen, who was a long standing lieutenant of Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, had earned the party’s ire after he had been vocal following the RG Kar incident. Sen had alleged that no steps were taken against the then principal of RG Kar Medical College Sandip Ghosh even after some of the issues were brought to the attention of a section of health department officials. Sen’s vocal stand on the issue created a furore within the party. The party has now decided to suspend him.

Islam, on the other side, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons over the years. A leader from Bhangor in South 24-Parganas, Arabul often committed activities which his party did not endorse. The suspensions signal the Trinamool Congress leadership’s effort to restore discipline within the ranks in the run-up to the 2026 Assembly elections. Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee formed several disciplinary committees in November and warned party leaders of going against the party line on different issues.