Congress is still atoning for Mamata’s expulsion, says party veteran Pradip Bhattacharya

File picture of West Bengal Congress leader Pradip Bhattacharya.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Senior West Bengal Congress leader Pradip Bhattacharya has stirred a hornet’s nest by saying the party is still atoning for the expulsion of Trinamool Congress chairperson and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

“The Congress is still atoning for expelling Mamata Banerjee. I had warned against her expulsion. But Somendranath Mitra [then State Congress president] was forced to take the decision under pressure from the central leadership,” the veteran Congress leader said at a public event on Saturday. The event was attended by State Congress president Subhankar Sarkar. 

Mr. Bhattacharya had made the remarks in Kolkata while unveiling the statue of Mitra, who passed away in 2020. Ms. Banerjee was expelled from the Congress on December 21, 1997 and on January 1, 1998, she started the Trinamool Congress. The Trinamool joined hands with the Congress to defeat the 34-year-old Left front government in 2011. Since then, the Trinamool has been in power in the State and maintained its political dominance while the vote share of Congress has plummeted. It currently has no representation in the State Assembly.

On Sunday, reflecting on his remarks, the 79-year-old Congress leader said he was referring to a situation that existed about 28 years ago, when the Congress central leadership pressurised the party state unit to expel Ms. Banerjee. He said former Congress president Sitaram Kesri insisted on her expulsion in 1997.

Mr. Bhattacharya is among the senior-most Congress leaders from West Bengal. He has held the post of State Congress president and represented the party in Rajya Sabha. Mr. Bhattacharya had in 2024 contested the Lok Sabha election from the Kolkata North constituency.

Of late, the State Congress leadership has been warming up to the Trinamool, particularly after Mr. Sarkar took over reins of the State unit from Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

The remarks by the veteran Congress leader was welcomed by the Trinamool leadership. Kunal Ghosh said that Mr. Bhattacharya was right as Ms. Banerjee was committed in fighting the Communist Party of India (Marxist) whereas rest of the Congress leaders were not.

Mr. Chowdhury said while the expulsion of Ms. Banerjee was a thing of the past, she had left no stone unturned to “destroy the Congress party in West Bengal” after coming to power. Mr. Chowdhury also hinted that the appreciation for the Trinamool chairperson comes at a time when there were vacancies in Rajya Sabha seats from the State.

Mr. Sarkar decided to stay away from the controversy. “I didn’t hear what Pradipda had said exactly. Many people say that I was present on the stage during that speech. But for some reason, I may not have heard that part of Pradipda’s speech,” Mr. Sarkar said.