Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee on Thursday hit back at party colleague Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar over her allegations of verbal abuse inside the Lok Sabha, questioning the timing of her complaint and alleging that it was driven by “motive”.
Addressing a press conference, Banerjee said any such incident on the floor of the House must be immediately reported to the Lok Sabha Speaker, and questioned why the complaint was raised later, ANI news agency reported.
Also Read | TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh writes to Speaker against for ‘misogynist’ party MP Kalyan Banerjee
‘Acting with a motive’: Kalyan Banerjee
TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking permission to file a formal complaint against Banerjee, accusing him of repeatedly verbally abusing her inside Parliament, HT reported earlier on Thursday.
“I seek your permission to lodge a formal complaint to you for redressal against Lok Sabha Member of AITC Kalyan Banerjee, who has repeatedly verbally abused me inside the Lok Sabha,” Dastidar wrote in the letter accessed by HT.
Calling the alleged behaviour misogynistic, Dastidar said the issue extended beyond her individual case. “This misogyny has been against many lady members and needs to be punished,” she wrote.
{{/usCountry}}Calling the alleged behaviour misogynistic, Dastidar said the issue extended beyond her individual case. “This misogyny has been against many lady members and needs to be punished,” she wrote.
{{/usCountry}}Responding to Kakoli Dastidar's allegations, Banerjee said on Thursday, “After something happens on the floor, the Speaker must be informed immediately, that is the rule. Any incident must be reported to the Speaker without delay. As for the allegations being made, the question is who said what and when. The problem lies in their intentions. It seems they are acting with a motive, which raises my doubts".
Also Read | TMC's Kakoli Dastidar alleges ‘verbal abuse, misogyny’ by Kalyan Banerjee in letter to Lok Sabha Speaker
Banerjee vs Dastidar: What happened?
The Barasat MP also raised concerns over the treatment of women parliamentarians, alleging that the conduct reflected a wider pattern within political spaces.
The complaint comes a day after Dastidar resigned from all organisational posts in the Trinamool Congress, including as president of the party’s women’s wing, citing differences with the leadership and “deep mental conflict and long reflection”.
She, however, clarified that she would continue as an MP and remain in the party as an ordinary worker.
Dastidar had recently skipped several key party events and publicly expressed concerns over the party’s internal functioning.
In her resignation letter, without naming Banerjee directly, she referred to the conduct of “another uneducated and rude party MP” whose alleged behaviour towards a woman MP, she said, had neither been checked by the party nor met with adequate support from senior leaders.
“It is not worth staying in a position where the indecent behaviour of another uneducated and rude party MP on a woman MP cannot be stopped or the cooperation and sympathy of the senior leadership cannot be obtained,” she wrote.
In an earlier interview with Hindustan Times, Dastidar had also criticised the party’s functioning and described her removal as TMC’s Lok Sabha chief whip as “authoritarian”.
“It would have been better if she had informed me in advance. Instead of being authoritarian, it would have been better if she had adopted a democratic process,” Dastidar said, referring to party chief Mamata Banerjee.