A day after senior BJP leader Rahul Sinha expressed his displeasure over the appointment of Trinamool Congress defectors to high party posts at the cost of the “veteran time-tested” saffron leaders newly appointed party vice president Mukul Roy reached out to the discontented leader saying Sinha and BJP were identical in Bengal.
Roy himself a founder member of the Trinamool Congress who left the party following his differences with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and joined the BJP a few years ago said, “Rahulda is the face of BJP in Bengal without whom the party would not have come this far… his contribution to the party is not less than anyone else.”
Sinha a former State party president was dropped as the party national secretary and was replaced by another Trinamool Congress discard Anupam Hazra a former MP. Hazra too struck a conciliatory note saying “all issues in the party can be sorted out through discussion,” adding he would approach the doors of all the leaders for better performance.
Three Bengal leaders were inducted into the national forum on Saturday. Apart from Roy and Hazra the third leader is Raju Bishta from Darjeeling who was made the party spokesperson.
Soon after being ignored in the major reshuffle in the party on Saturday Sinha had exploded saying that he was hugely disappointed by the development. “I will speak up details 10-12 days later but for now I can say that I am extremely disappointed by the new arrangement where TMC defectors have been honoured with priced posts… Is this the reward I got for serving the party for the past 40 years?” he said adding “nothing can be more unfortunate and disappointing than this.”
The top-level schism tended to reach the grassroots with Hazra’s car on Sunday being gheraoed by angry saffron workers at Baruipur in South 24 Parganaas where the discontented workers complained against TMC men occupying important posts in the party.
“The TMC workers who have joined the BJP are getting important responsibilities where as we are being ignored by the district leadership … this is unacceptable,” a party mandal workers said even as two groups engaged in fisticuffs sources said. About half a dozen party men had to be hospitalised, insiders said.
Similar skirmishes took place at Basirhat where the party men revolted against district party president Tapan Ghosh holding him guilty of getting sold out to the Trinamool Congress.
“Our district president is sold out to Prashant Kishore and is doing nothing. He has withdrawn the active fighting workers which is why the party is not taking any programme in the district,” angry workers said even as they vandalised the interiors of a tent where a party programme was to be held.