Kolkata: The rebel faction of Trinamool MLAs led by Ritabrata Banerjee on Saturday made Mamata Banerjee loyalists Anubrata Mondal, Jyotipriya Mullick and Debasish Kumar office-bearers of the state committee, sealing their defections. Mondal was appointed president of the Birbhum unit.With its ranks swelling, the dissident camp also drew the battle lines, announcing its first public rally on July 21 at Gandhi statue on Mayo Road. Kolkata Police has given them permission for the rally.The Trinamool camp, however, made light of the defections, saying they were neither (legally) valid nor acceptable (to party workers).Mondal did not attend the Ritabrata camp’s Day 2 meeting in Kolkata where state and district office-bearers were decided. His party rival Kajal Sheikh wasn’t there too. It remains to be seen whether they will bury the hatchet or carry on with their legacy of infighting within the rebel camp.Interestingly, the office-bearers’ list for North 24 Parganas was not announced. Mullick has been kept in the state committee but was not made a district office-bearer. “There are some districts like Cooch Behar, East Midnapore and North 24 Parganas, excluding Basirhat, where meetings are ongoing and the office-bearers will be decided,” Ritabrata said.Another source of unease in the rebel camp was the sudden appearance of former Panihati MLA Nirmal Ghosh at the meeting. Nirmal, who has been formally indicted in the RG Kar investigation, and his son face multiple police complaints. Former MP Shantanu Sen, an outspoken critic of the RG Kar incident, was also made a state committee member of the rebel camp.“He (Nirmal Ghosh) did come, but we did not meet him,” Ritabrata said. TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh hit back immediately. “A self-styled RG Kar critic and a person accused in the body’s disappearance share the same platform. It (the rebel camp) is slowly becoming a circus tent,” he said.Ritabrata maintained that this was “a battle against individual cult by a collective”. “Trinamool Congress is not a pvt limited company where two people decide everything. Today, it is evident why so many people, who have always been with Trinamool, are joining us. In the coming days, as people see and perceive, more will join,” he said.Kunal said they had “nothing to say on who goes where”. “Mamata Banerjee’s strength is her workers and supporters. Why people are leaving, what are the underlying reasons, is it to pre-empt police or agency action, or to gain some comfort are some questions in everyone’s mind. At this pace, BJP will soon be Trinamool Congress alumni association,” he added.
