Amid the ongoing face-off between TMC leaders and the rebels, West Bengal Minister Dilip Ghosh on Sunday said that a "wave of resignations" has begun within
the Trinamool Congress, alleging that the party "no longer exists." Ghosh's remarks came after the party's state unit president and former minister Chandrima Bhattacharya resigned from all party posts on Saturday. Following this, Mamata Banerjee assumed the post of the state president of the party. The BJP leader further reacted to Bhattacharya's claim that, despite being the Finance Minister of West Bengal, state budgets were never discussed with her during her time in the TMC government. "A wave of resignations has begun within the TMC. This trend will continue because, in reality, their party no longer exists. Chandrima Bhattacharya served as Finance Minister for so many years; was she unaware of the budget? Was the budget prepared without consulting her? Why did this happen?" Ghosh was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. Further taking a swipe at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over budget preparations, the Bengal minister said, "Mamata Banerjee used to claim that she prepared the budget while on a treadmill. Preparing a budget on a treadmill is madness. That is precisely why the situation in Bengal is so dire. Today, now that the party is finished, she (Chandrima Bhattacharya) has switched sides and is making such statements. Why didn't she raise her voice earlier? People elected and sent you there. If work wasn't getting done, why didn't you say anything back then?," he added.
Chandrima Bhattacharya Resigned From All Party Posts
Chandrima Bhattacharya on Saturday said that former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's remark accusing her of "handing over" the Trinamool Bhavan to the Ritabrata Banerjee-led rebel faction was the reason behind her resignation from the party."You saw what happened yesterday. An incident happened at Trinamool Bhavan. After that, Mamata ji spoke to me over the phone. She told me, 'You handed over Trinamool Bhavan to them.' This hurt me. There was no need to say this," she said after her resignation.
The resignation comes at a time of high drama in West Bengal politics, as the property owner of the TMC's state party office in Kolkata locked the premises from the inside following reports that the rebel faction had taken possession of the building.
(With agency inputs)
