Following Rajya Sabha exit, Arpita Ghosh appointed TMC Bengal general secretary | Kolkata - Hindustan Times
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Following Rajya Sabha exit, Arpita Ghosh appointed TMC Bengal general secretary

Written by Sharangee Dutta | Edited by Poulomi Ghosh, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Sep 17, 2021 05:23 PM IST

In a letter, TMC leader Arpita Ghosh said that her goal is to serve the people of West Bengal under the leadership of party chief and chief minister Mamata Banerjee and that it would be achieved by resigning as the Rajya Sabha MP and working directly in the state.

Two days after resigning as the Member of Parliament (MP) of Rajya Sabha, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Arpita Ghosh has been appointed as the general secretary of the party’s West Bengal committee.

TMC leader Arpita Ghosh resigned as the Rajya Sabha MP on Wednesday.
TMC leader Arpita Ghosh resigned as the Rajya Sabha MP on Wednesday.

In a letter, TMC president Subrata Bakshi informed the party’s decision to appoint Ghosh in the role. “As desired by West Bengal Trinamool Congress Committee, I would like to inform you that you have been nominated as general secretary… with immediate effect. I trust and hope you will work sincerely for the betterment of the organisation,” the letter read.

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Following her resignation and the acceptance of the same by Vice President and chairman of House, M Venkaiah Naidu, on Wednesday, Ghosh said that she now wants to work for TMC’s organisation.

Ghosh thanked TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, who is also the nephew of party supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, for giving the artiste-turned politician the opportunity to serve the people in different capacities.

In a letter explaining her thoughts regarding the exit from Parliament, Ghosh said she had been pondering over her continuing role in TMC following the party’s landslide victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections. “My goal is clear: I wish to continue to serve the people of Bengal under the leadership of chief minister Mamata Banerjee,” she said, adding that she would be in a “better position” to achieve her goals by resigning from the Rajya Sabha.

However, people familiar with the development of the matter reportedly hinted that Ghosh’s move was prompted by the TMC. BJP West Bengal president Dilip Ghosh said that the TMC leader was “forced to resign” by the “dictatorial leadership” of the party. “It shows the party does not believe in democracy within the organisation,” he added.

However, TMC leader and West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim asserted that the TMC “granted” Ghosh’s “wish” of working for the organisation. “Dilip Ghosh should not meddle into internal affairs of the Trinamool Congress,” Hakim added.

Ghosh echoed Hakim’s statement and stuck to her earlier point to work for the organisation, adding that staying in West Bengal would also allow her to devote “more time” to her “passion – theatre.”

Arpita Ghosh had won the 2014 Lok Sabha polls as a TMC candidate from the Balurghat constituency in West Bengal. She was elected as the Rajya Sabha MP following her defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from the same constituency.

(With inputs from agencies)

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