KOLKATA: On Thursday, Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member from Krishnagar, Mohua Moitra received a subtle thrashing from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the issue of party infighting in Nadia district.
The leader of opposition in the West Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari immediately became vocal in support of Moitra claiming that anyone with minimum self-respect has been traditionally humiliated by the chief minister.
“The chief minister gets pleasure by rebuking and humiliating senior government officers and public representatives in public meetings. This is one of the major reasons why I decided to quit Trinamool Congress. The chief minister does not realize that everyone has some minimum self-respect. Such programs which are telecasted live are being viewed by parents and children of those who are being humiliated by her. But she does not have minimum common sense,” Adhikari said.
It looks like a well thought out approach of BJP to reach out to those leaders in Trinamool Congress who are currently not in the good books of the party supremo, say political observers.
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress’s chief whip in Assembly, Nirmal Ghosh rubbished Adhikari's comments as baseless. “Even after leaving the party, he is unable to forget us. He is unnecessarily interfering in the internal matters of our party. The party gave him enough respect and importance. But he turned out to be a traitor,” Ghosh said.
Countering it, BJP’s state vice president, Jaiprakash Majumdar said that Adhikari just stated the facts. “The manner in which she humiliates police officers, bureaucrats, and public representatives in public platforms is just unthinkable. Adhikari has just shared his experiences. There is nothing political about it,” he said.
Some political observers feel that this public rebuking by the chief minister at times helps in adding pace to the development activities. They also feel that since she is scolding leaders of her own party, leaders of other parties have nothing to say against it.
Summing it up, renowned political scientist and the former principal of the-then Presidency College, Dr Amal Kumar Mukhopdhyay said that it would have been better if the chief minister refrained from humiliating anyone publicly. “But why is Adhikari saying such things now. He could have objected to these while he was in Trinamool Congress,” he added.
