Mamata Banerjee PUBLICLY SLAMS TMC MP Mahua Moitra, says 'stick to your own LS constituency'

KOLKATA: In yet another instance of widening rift between TMC MP Mahua Moitra and party president Mamata Banerjee, the West Bengal Chief Minister on Friday once again rebuked her publicly and told her to concentrate on her own Lok Sabha constituency. Cautioning Mahua Moitra not to "unnecessary interfere'' in other party leaders' work, the TMC supremo asked her to help the party by sticking to her own area.

While addressing a booth-level workers’ meet in Calcutta, the TMC chief told Moitra to leave party issues in Nadia’s Karimpur to Murshidabad MP Abu Taher.

"Mahua, who gives post and who does not give is not important. It is for the party to think about that. Karimpur is not your area, it's Abu Taher's and he will see. You only concentrate on your Lok Sabha constituency," Banerjee reportedly said during the party organisational booth meeting.

It may be noted that Mahua Moitra was elected as a Trinamul MLA from Karimpur in 2016. In 2019, she became an MP from the Krishnanagar seat. A portion of the Karimpur Assembly constituency falls under Krishnanagar limits. As Nadia district president, Moitra used to look after the entire area at one point in time.

However, after the 2021 assembly polls, Moitra was removed from the post of district president. Though she no longer holds the district president’s post but enjoys considerable clout in Karimpur where she has her ancestral property also.

According to TMC sources, Mahua has managed to build huge support in Karimpur but battles friction with local leaders, which the party’s central leadership thinks can cause huge damage to the party.   

It is said that the local Karimpur MLA has complained to Mamata Banerjee about Mahua’s growing interference in the party‘s day-to-day affairs in his area after which the TMC boss slammed the Krishnanagar MP. After Mamata’s ‘piece of advice' to her, Mahua, in a Facebook post on Friday evening, reiterated her association with Karimpur.

"You all know that in 2016, with the blessing of Mamata Banerjee and your love, I became MLA Karimpur. From 2016 to 2019, I tried to implement the developmental work of the Mamata Banerjee government in this region. During this time, I got work done worth Rs 149 crore here. Karimpur ITI and other colleges came up. In 2019, I became MP from Krishnanagar. I have worked for each assembly constituency in my area and also have worked for Karimpur as the people of Karimpur love me," she said.

"As a voter of Karimpur and also as a former MLA, my bonding with Karimpur was and will be there. Today, the party high command has asked me to give more time to my Lok Sabha constituency. Therefore, I will not be able to give more time (to Karimpur). My request to you all from now is that for developmental work, please get in touch with the MP of this region, Abu Taher Khan."

This is not the first time Moitra has been criticised by the TMC leaders. Her recent remarks about Hindu goddess Kali put the TMC on the back foot, leading to the party distancing itself from the comments.