Abhishek Banerjee slams Suvendu Adhikari at a rally in West Bengal

Two days after Suvendu Adhikari resigned as minister in the Mamata Banerjee cabinet, Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday (November 29) made a vitriolic attack on the heavyweight leader at his first election rally.   

Trinamool Congress senior leader Subhendu Adhikari resigned as minister in the Mamata Banerjee cabinet on Friday (November 27), sending ripples across Bengal’s political circles.

After Adhikari’s resignation, Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday (November 29) made a vitriolic attack on the heavyweight leader at his first election rally. 

A few days back, Adhikari had said at a public meeting that he had worked hard to reach where he is today, and had neither used a lift nor a parachute, which could have made things smooth. Some had read between the lines and deduced that his words probably had a reference to Abhishek Banerjee, whom he alleged to have made it easy in politics, being Mamata Banerjee’s nephew.

Indirectly hitting on Adhikari’s comment, Abhishek Banerjee said, “Mamata Banerjee was not made in a day. Do not belittle her. A lot of people laid down their lives for the TMC. No TMC worker went up in an elevator or descend in a parachute.”

“Had I descended in a parachute I would have held 35 portfolios. I would have contested the polls from south Kolkata, where I live. The party sent me to Diamond Harbour, where I had to start from scratch,” he added.

Incidentally, Suvendu Adhikari is known for holding important positions. On Thursday night, he resigned from the post of chairman of the Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners and on Friday he quit the Haldia Development Authority where he was the chairman. Apart from transport, Adhikari was also in charge of water resources investigation and development and irrigation and waterways.

Sunday’s rally was held at Satgachhia which is part of the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha segment. This was Banerjee’s first public meeting in eight months.

The TMC held two back-to-back rallies at Haldia and Kanthi in East Midnapore on Sunday in a bid to send a strong message to Adhikari and local party workers. Incidentally, the TMC rallies were led by ministers who are younger than most members of the cabinet.