Internal strife in TMC: Madan Mitra to be Chief Whip, leaders show-caused

The TMC nominated Madan Mitra as new Chief Whip, but the Speaker's office declined the letter. The party also issued show-cause notices to senior leaders, including Firhad Hakim, amid a rebellion led by Ritabrata Banerjee.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Tuesday wrote to the West Bengal Assembly Speaker, nominating party MLA Madan Mitra as the new Chief Whip in place of Firhad Hakim, on Monday night. TMC leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay visited the Speaker's office on Tuesday to submit a hard copy of the same communication. However, the Speaker's office declined to accept the letter, citing the matter as "sub-judice", even as an official email had already been sent by the party the previous night, according to the TMC.

Disciplinary Committee Issues Show-Cause Notices

Meanwhile, the TMC disciplinary committee has issued show-cause notices to several senior leaders, including Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas, Arup Roy, Javed Khan, Rathin Ghosh, Biplab Mitra, Snehasis Chakraborty and Sabina Yasmin, alleging that they deliberately indulged in anti-party activities.

Rebel Faction Announces New Leadership

The development comes amid internal organisational churn within the party after a rebel faction headed by West Bengal Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee on Monday announced the constitution of a new leadership structure for the All India Trinamool Congress Committee and appointed Arup Roy as its chairperson. They also constituted a 30-member National Working Committee (NWC), while reiterating that he wanted former chief minister Mamata Banerjee to play the role of mentor in the party.

Addressing reporters yesterday, Ritabrata Banerjee said Arup Roy had been unanimously elected as the Chairperson of the All India Trinamool Congress. They also named former minister Aroop Biswas and MLA Firhad Hakim as vice-chairpersons.

"A special session of the All India Trinamool Congress was organised here today. During this session, the All India Trinamool Congress Committee and the NWC were constituted through a unanimous election of delegates. Arup Roy has been elected as the Chairperson of the All India Trinamool Congress," Ritabrata Banerjee said. He said the 30-member committee includes Firhad Hakim, Arup Biswas, Rathin Ghosh, Sabina Yasmin, Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha and others, while Firhad Hakim, Arup Biswas, Rathin Ghosh and Sabina Yasmin have been appointed as vice-presidents. (ANI)

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