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TMC rolls out dos and don’ts for MLAs in wake of fake vaccination scam probe
TMC leaders can’t attend any public meeting without checking the backgrounds of people organising and attending it.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) legislators cannot make statements on important issues without consulting the state leadership or attend any public meeting without checking the backgrounds of people organising and attending it, West Bengal’s ruling party on Monday told its 213 legislators while conducting a workshop at the state assembly building. The same rules will apply to what the MLAs post on social media.
The new set of dos and don’ts, party leaders said, was rolled out in view of various campaigns being carried out by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as well as the recent fake vaccination scam in which the main accused, Debanjan Deb, an imposter, dropped the names of several heavyweight TMC leaders and ministers to cheat people. He was exposed after TMC Lok Sabha member Mimi Chakraborty got a job at a camp that Deb held in Kolkata and informed the authorities when she did not receive any certificate.
Posing as an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer working for the Kolkata civic body, Deb held at least two camps in Kolkata last month where more than 800 people were allegedly given shots of Amikacin, an antibiotic. His name even appeared below the names of TMC ministers and MPs in a plaque placed below a recently installed bust of Rabindranath Tagore in central Kolkata. The government hurriedly removed the plague and Kolkata Police started a probe. Deb and several of his associates have been arrested. The BJP has started a campaign using photographs in which Deb can be purportedly seen with some TMC leaders.
“We have been told to do a background check before attending any public event. Also, the party has said that we cannot make any statement on crucial issues or react to allegations raised by the BJP before consulting our state leaders and knowing what the party’s official stand is,” said a first-time TMC MLA who did not wish to be named.
The workshop was held by four senior TMC leaders, Subrata Mukherjee, Partha Chatterjee, Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, who all are ministers, and former party general secretary Subrata Bakshi.
“The MLAs have been told not to make any statement inside or outside the assembly on any issue without the party’s clearance. They have been asked to attend assembly sessions on a regular basis and keep track of the proceedings,” said Partha Chatterjee. “The MLAs cannot do anything that affects the democratic atmosphere,” he added.
The BJP, too, imposed some restrictions on its MLAs last week.
On Saturday, they were told not to travel without informing the leadership. State present Dilip Ghosh said this at a workshop held for 75 BJP MLAs. This immediately raised questions as no party in Bengal has imposed restrictions on the movement of their leaders in recent history.
While Ghosh’s mandate was described by party leader’s as “an effort to enforce discipline” some of them felt it reflected Ghosh’s displeasure over MLA Suvendu Adhikari’s recent visits to Delhi where he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and other top leaders.
During his last trip, Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the Bengal assembly, triggered a controversy by visiting the home of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. Though Mehta and Adhikari said they could not meet because the former was busy in a meeting, the TMC has demanded the Solicitor General’s removal.
The ruling party has said that since Adhikari is an accused in the Narada sting operation case and Mehta is representing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in court, they cannot meet.
On earlier occasions, as well as on Friday when the controversy emerged, Ghosh said he was not aware of why Adhikari was in Delhi and who he met.
