THROWING her weight behind nephew Abhishek Banerjee as rebel leaders blamed his alleged high-handedness for their exit from the TMC, party supremo Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday apologised to the people “on behalf of the traitors” and asserted that neither she nor her family had ever compromised for political survival. Striking a defiant note, Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of using central agencies and police to engineer defections, declared that she was prepared to rebuild the TMC from scratch if necessary, and alleged her opponents wanted her dead. “They wanted me to suffer a heart attack. But I will live till I see your end,” she said. In what was her strongest public endorsement yet of Abhishek Banerjee since the split in the TMC, Mamata Banerjee rejected allegations that his leadership style had fuelled the rebellion, insisting instead that he had become the principal target of political attacks because he had refused to “compromise”.

 

“Abhishek Banerjee has been turned into an excuse. His family members were summoned. Had he wanted, he could have got relief. But he did not run away from the battlefield. The way he has continued to fight, all his flaws have been forgiven. He is fighting like a tiger,” she said during a Facebook Live interaction. Her emphatic defence of her nephew came hours after senior MLA Madan Mitra deserted the Mamata Banerjee camp to join the rebel faction led by Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, becoming the latest senior face to blame Abhishek Banerjee’s alleged high-handedness for quitting the party. Mitra had said he left after his demand that Abhishek Banerjee “step aside for six months” was rejected. Rejecting that charge outright, Mamata Banerjee linked Mitra’s exit to an Enforcement Directorate summons issued to his wife and two sons on Tuesday. “The person who left today had yesterday informed us that he and his family had received a summons. We understood then that he might switch camps. Abhishek has nothing to do with his decision,” she said. Without naming the BJP directly, Mamata Banerjee alleged that central agencies had become instruments for dismantling the Opposition.