Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday asked potential fence-sitters in her Trinamool Congress faction to quit before July 21 if they plan to join the rebel camp led by expelled leader Ritabrata Banerjee. Her Facebook Live message came soon after former Trinamool Congress legislator from Rajarhat-Newtown constituency in North 24 Parganas, Tapas Chatterjee, gave hints earlier in the day about his decision to quit the Mamata Banerjee-led faction and join the Ritabrata-led faction. In her Facebook live message, Mamata Banerjee also clarified why she was asking the potential fence-sitters to quit and shift before July 21. According to her, on that day, she and her followers will be arranging a Martyrs' Day rally as Trinamool Congress had been doing since its inception in January 1998, and on that rally, she would again start from scratch as she did in 1997 when she broke away from Congress and started the process of establishing Trinamool Congress. She said she respectfully requests those who have to quit and shift under pressure from the BJP, the police, the ED, the CBI, and other agencies to make a decision on this count and act before July 21. She urged them not to taint the party they have created by staying inside, adding that they can leave the party and that their decision to quit and shift will not weaken them. The former Chief Minister said that the new journey for her and her dedicated followers will begin on July 21. She said she does not care who stays with her, adding that those who stay with her after July 21 will be real assets to them. She said she has heard that even the family members of the martyrs are being threatened to join the parallel Martyrs’ Day programme organised by the rebel faction this time. She added that they might go there, but only their souls would be with them. MLA Manish Gupta quits TMC: In another setback to the Trinamool Congress, former State Minister and ex-MLA Manish Gupta on Thursday announced his decision to quit the Mamata Banerjee-led party.

 

Although he has not yet officially submitted his resignation letter, he has clearly told the media that he no longer feels he has a role in the Trinamool Congress, which is why he has decided to leave the party. However, new political speculation has started surrounding his announcement. Manish Gupta said that even though he joined Trinamool, he has been kept on the sidelines for the last five years and has not been utilised.He said he would not say he regrets it, but there are many such reasons. He added that at the same time, age is a big issue, so he is leaving Trinamool and also leaving politics. He further said that he is 84 years old and has decided not to do politics anymore. He added that he is not in any camp and has decided to leave politics. Political controversies surrounding Manish Gupta are not new. He was the state's Home Secretary during 'Mahakaran Abhijan' on July 21, 1993. On that day, 13 workers were killed in police firing during the Youth Congress movement. Controversy has surrounded him for a long time because of that incident. A section of the opposition alleged that the role of those in administrative charge at that time also needed to be investigated. Since then, Congress and later Trinamool Congress have been organising Martyrs' Day rallies on July 21 every year to commemorate the 13 martyred Youth Congress workers. But during the political upheaval in 2011, Mamata Banerjee left that past behind and brought Manish Gupta into active politics. He was given a Trinamool Congress ticket to contest from Jadavpur constituency in the 2011 state Assembly election, considered a Left bastion. Manish Gupta defeated his former boss, the then-incumbent Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who had been the MLA of this constituency for 24 years. Gupta later served as a member of the state cabinet. That is why his current decision is considered significant by political circles. --IANS sch/dan