KOLKATA: Ties between West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress and its ally Congress worsened further on Tuesday as a Congress minister called Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee a dictator and faxed his resignation from the government to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Angry after Banerjee clipped his wings by taking away two departments in Monday’s reshuffle, Congress Minister of State Manoj Chakraborty shot off his resignation to Sonia Gandhi, party general secretary Rahul Gandhi and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. And after a day of dramatic outburst against the chief minister, Chakraborty left the state secretariat in the evening vowing not to return as minister.
“I have faxed my resignation to our leaders. I will come back to the secretariat only as an MLA to take up people’s issues,” he thundered at the secretariat corridor.
Chakraborty said he wanted to quit the ministry as it lacked any “standing” or “stability”.
Chakraborty, who had attacked Banerjee Jan 9 when she asked the Congress to walk out of the alliance if it so desired, lost his two portfolios, parliamentary affairs and small and cottage industries. He was made minister of state for food processing and horticulture.
“I have given not 100 percent but 200 percent as minister. And if performance is the criterion, the fact is people are raising questions about Mamata Banerjee’s performance,” said Chakraborty.
A legislator from the Congress stronghold Murshidabad, Chakraborty is also a loyalist of Banerjee’s bete noire and Congress MP Adhir Chowdhury. “I don’t know why I was shifted. It was done with an attitude of vengeance. I don’t want to bear such insults. Dignity is most important to me.
“If the Congress has a compulsion to continue in this ministry, they should look for someone else.” (IANS)