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Expelled MLAs vs TMC over signature row: Mamata Banerjee's battered party fights on two fronts
Sandipan Saha, one of two TMC MLAs expelled, said the party “treats any talk of morality as an offence”.
Sandipan Saha, one of two Trinamool Congress MLAs expelled on Monday, turned on the party leadership within hours of the action, alleging that the TMC “treats any talk of morality as an offence”. He accused the party of “forging” the nomination of the assembly Leader of Opposition. This is only the latest fracture in a party reeling from defeat at the hands of the BJP.
"In this party, anyone who speaks of morality will be deemed to be engaging in anti-party activity, simply because the party itself does not engage in any moral conduct," Saha told news agency ANI.
"If, today, we have been suspended [note: party says expelled] for the sake of upholding morality, we are actually quite pleased," he further said.
Asked whether he would join another party, he said: “No, there is nothing like that. Why would I think about that?”
Also read | TMC forgery case filed by 2 MLAs, says Suvendu Adhikari; Mamata expels them
‘Forged’ signatures at nub of row
At the heart of Saha's grievance is an alleged forged-signature case. He says he and others signed only an attendance sheet, not a resolution, and did not realise it would be treated as an endorsement. The dispute centres on a letter nominating veteran TMC leader Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal assembly, a post the TMC now occupies after losing power in the state.
The state CID is probing the alleged forgery of MLAs' signatures on that letter and has served notices on several party leaders.
Saha and fellow MLA Ritabrata Banerjee, from Entally and Uluberia Purba seats, were expelled from the primary membership of the Trinamool Congress (TC) "with immediate effect", as per a communication signed by party vice-president Chandrima Bhattacharya.
The party said the two had "repeatedly failed to attend meetings convened by the authorised leadership of the party" and "involved yourselves in anti-party activities".
The expulsions came after a press conference by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP, who told reporters that Saha and Banerjee had complained their signatures were forged.
"Trinamool's corruption did not just target the people of Bengal but also its own MLAs. Trinamool stole its own MLAs' signatures," Adhikari said, naming the two. "We had no role in this," Adhikari added.
Saha reserved his sharpest words for the party's national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, who signed the MLAs' list. "Submitting the signatures of those who weren't there was a huge blunder," he said, arguing that Abhishek bore responsibility for the errors.
The CID had served Abhishek a notice on Saturday to appear in the probe, but he did not turn up.
Two-front fight for Mamata
The MLAs' expulsion lands at the lowest point in the TMC's recent history. The party was routed in the assembly election, with results declared on May 4 ending its long control of the state.
Since then, it has been fighting on two fronts. Within the party, the dissent is open. On Sunday, only 19 of the TMC's 80 MLAs attended a legislative party meeting at Mamata Banerjee's Kalighat residence, forcing its cancellation. In the weeks since the defeat, nearly 100 municipal councillors have resigned across the state, and several senior leaders have publicly aired grievances. The expulsions of Saha and Banerjee follow this.
From outside, the pressure is mounting too. Abhishek Banerjee was physically attacked on May 30 at Sonarpur in South 24 Parganas while visiting the family of a party worker killed in post-poll violence; he was taken to hospital and said, "They want to kill me," blaming the BJP.
A day later, MP Kalyan Banerjee was allegedly attacked in Hooghly.
The new state government has also moved against Abhishek on other fronts, with demolition notices issued over properties linked to him, and the TMC says civic bodies it controls are now being targeted for scrutiny.
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said many MLAs were absent because they were protesting the attacks on Abhishek and Kalyan Banerjee.
Mamata Banerjee has cast the crisis as a BJP plot: “Four of my elected MLAs complained to me how they were threatened by the cops over the phone before they came for the meeting.” Earlier, addressing party candidates, she had struck a defiant note over the exits, telling those wanting to leave that they were free "to go" and that she would rebuild the party.
Once expelled, Saha and Banerjee become unattached members no longer bound by the party whip.
