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TMC's Kakoli Dastidar alleges ‘verbal abuse, misogyny’ by Kalyan Banerjee in letter to Lok Sabha Speaker
The letter comes a day after Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar resigned from all organisational posts in the Trinamool Congress.
Trinamool Congress MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar on Thursday wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, alleging verbal abuse and misogynistic behaviour by fellow TMC member Kalyan Banerjee. Her grave allegations against her fellow party leader came a day after she resigned from all organisational posts she held in the TMC.
“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,” she wrote in the letter, obtained by HT.
“This misogyny has been against many lady members and needs to be punished,” Dastidar wrote to the Speaker.
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. She cited differences with the party leadership and “deep mental conflict and long reflection”.
Dastidar clarified that she would continue as a MP and remain within the party as an ordinary worker.
The Barasat MP also skipped key party events and publicly raised concerns over the party’s internal functioning. She was seen attending an administrative meeting chaired by Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari despite objections from the TMC leadership.
In her resignation letter, Dastidar called her tenure as chief of the women’s wing “an important chapter” in her political life.
“But with great sadness and concern, I am requesting to resign from the post of Chairperson of All India Trinamool Mahila Congress along with other organisational posts, committees and responsibilities of the party,” she wrote.
‘Indecent behaviour’ by party MP
At the time, without naming Banerjee, Dastidar had referred to the conduct of “another uneducated and rude party MP” whose alleged behaviour towards a woman, she said, was neither 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.
Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar alleges corruption in TMC
In an earlier interview with Hindustan Times, Dastidar criticised the party’s functioning and said her removal as TMC’s Lok Sabha chief whip was “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 in reference to party chief Mamata Banerjee.
Dastidar also acknowledged corruption within the party structure.
“This is definitely a key reason for the defeat of TMC. Corruption is a very pertinent issue. The harsh ground reality is that these elected people at the lower level, be it at panchayat or municipality level, these elected people have been extorting money and indulged in all illegal activities,” she said.
She, though, defended grassroots workers, saying many “worked diligently and honestly for the party” despite being affected by corruption allegations involving local leaders.
Asked whether she anticipated a split within the party, Dastidar told HT at the time, “I don’t think there would be any major split.”
