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TMC removes Kunal Ghosh from Bengal general secretary post
The development comes hours after Ghosh shared a stage with the BJP's Kolkata North candidate Tapas Ray and heaped praise on him.
The Trinamool Congress on Wednesday removed Kunal Ghosh from the post of Bengal general secretary for making statements that did not align with the party.
“Kunal Ghosh has been expressing views that do not align with those of the party. It is important to clarify that these are his personal opinions and should not be attributed to the party," a statement signed by TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien said. "Only statements issued from AITC headquarters should be considered the party's official position.” Follow full coverage of the Lok Sabha elections here.
“Ghosh was previously relieved from his role as party spokesperson. Now, he has been removed from the position of General Secretary of the state organization,” the statement added.
The development comes hours after Ghosh shared a stage with the BJP's Kolkata North candidate Tapas Ray and praised him, according to PTI.
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Ghosh also gave a rally by the party’s candidate from the Kolkata North Lok Sabha constituency, Sudip Bandopadhyay, a miss for a blood donation programme, which was attended by Ray.
"Tapas Ray is a true mass leader. His doors are always open for party workers and people. I have known him for several decades. Unfortunately, our paths are now different as Tapas-da despite our best efforts to retain him was unsuccessful," Ghosh had said, according to Business Today.
"I am hopeful that the elections would be free and fair, and no unscrupulous means would be used to retain the seat. Let the people cast their votes freely," he had added.
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On his part, Ghosh claimed that he had already stepped down as the party's spokesperson and general secretary.
“I have not received any official letter through WhatsApp or email but I have seen a press release. I had already left the position of Spokesperson and General Secretary,” he said, according to ANI. "I had tweeted about it. I had removed it from the bio of my X (Twitter) handle much earlier. If someone says today that they have removed me, then it is not correct. I had already left the position..."
Earlier, despite his removal from the post of party spokesperson, Ghosh also regularly held press conferences at the party headquarters.
The state is going into polls in seven phases, while the elections for the Baharampur seat are scheduled on June 1 (seventh phase).
On May 7, a total of 94 Lok Sabha seats across 12 states and Union Territories will go to polls on May 7 in the third phase of seven-phase polls. According to the Election Commission, a total of 1,351 candidates will contest in the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
