Identify those who have kept contact with BJP: Mamata urges party leaders

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee has urged party leaders on Friday to identify those who had been and are still staying in contact with BJP and at the same time, said those who have joined the saffron party will not be allowed to rejoin Trinamool.

She told party leaders not to worry and assured that the party will make a comeback in the 2021 Assembly polls.

Banerjee met the leaders of Jhargram and Bankura at Trinamool Bhavan on Friday afternoon. Subrata Bakshi, state Trinamool president and Suvendu Adhikari, state Transport minister, also attended the meeting.

"Intensify vigil and identify those who are keeping contact with BJP. Also find out those who had supported BJP in the recently concluded general election. Those who have joined BJP will not be allowed to rejoin the party," she asserted.

Banerjee said BJP has distorted her statement on the 'cut money' debacle. "BJP has distorted my view on cut money. I did not say it the way it is being circulated by BJP," she maintained. She reiterated that despite her requests, some leaders did not develop contact with the people and the party had to pay a price for their attitude in the Lok Sabha election.

"I told you repeatedly to build contact with people. But you did not and the party is paying a price for it," she said and once again instructed the leaders to intensify their contact with people. She also stated that the leaders should bury their hatchets and work together to make the party regain its position.

She urged Arup Chakraborty, Arup Khan and Shampa Daripa of Bankura to increase their contact with people. Rajib Ghosal, Trinamool Youth Congress president of Bankura, has been sidelined and a new president will be elected. She also asked Shyamapada Mukherjee, former minister from Bankura, to keep in touch with Daripa. In Jhargram, she asked Birbaha Soren to get in touch with Uma Soren for the party's programmes.

The Trinamool supremo said in both Jhargram and Bankura, the state government has carried out massive development. Several schemes have been initiated for SC and ST people. "But despite that, we have failed to win the election. We lacked in informing the people about the schemes. The leaders lacked in developing contact with the people as well," she said.

It may be recalled that both in Jhargram and Bankura, Trinamool Congress candidates had lost to their BJP rivals. Trinamool had fielded Subrata Mukherjee in Bankura, who lost by a huge margin. Similarly, Birbaha Soren was defeated by the BJP candidate as well.

Banerjee is visibly disturbed over the poll results and held a marathon meeting with the district leaders on Friday, to analyse the poll debacle in Bankura and Jhargram.