Mamata camp files police complaints against Ritabrata faction
The battle for control of the TMC spilt further onto the legal turf on Sunday, with the Mamata Banerjee-led faction lodging fresh police complaints against dissident leader Ritabrata Banerjee and his associates, accusing them of illegally using the party’s name, symbol and organisational designations to mislead workers and supporters.
The complaints, filed by TMC’s joint national secretary Dola Sen, came a day after the party’s ‘Kalighat wing’ had approached the Pragati Maidan and New Town police with similar allegations against the breakaway camp.
The move marks a sharp escalation in the month-long struggle within the party following the Assembly poll debacle, with both camps now increasingly relying on legal and organisational measures to establish their claim over the party’s legacy and structure.
In the latest complaints at Kalighat police station and Kolkata Police’s Cyber Crime division, the Mamata Banerjee loyalists named Ritabrata Banerjee, former minister Arup Roy, Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha and Biplab Mitra, alleging that they were attempting to run a parallel organisation by projecting themselves as office-bearers of the All India Trinamool Congress without authorisation from the party leadership.
“The accused persons are using the party’s name, symbol and organisational positions to create confusion among workers and supporters and damage the party’s image,” the complaint alleged.
The police complaints come less than a week after the rebel faction organised a high-profile “special session” at a luxury hotel in New Town, where it announced a new national working committee that excluded both Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee.
The June 22 meeting, attended by several MLAs and former legislators, was projected by the dissidents as an attempt to “rebuild” the organisation after the party’s crushing defeat in the assembly elections.
On Saturday, the Ritabrata camp held another gathering in east Kolkata’s Topsia area, drawing 47 former Kolkata Municipal Corporation councillors, which political observers viewed as a concerted effort to strengthen its urban support base ahead of the civic polls likely later this year.
Notably, banners and signage at both meetings prominently displayed the TMC’s grass-and-twin-flower symbol and the party’s official name, even as portraits of Mamata Banerjee – once the unquestioned face of the organisation – were absent. In its complaint at the New Town police station, the Mamata Banerjee camp sought an investigation into those allegedly operating behind the scenes of the dissident movement, and questioned the source of funds being used for organising meetings, printing publicity material and running social media campaigns in the party’s name.
The loyalist faction also challenged the validity of positions claimed by rebel leaders. It cited a recent communication by Ritabrata Banerjee to Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose in which he described himself as the party’s “general secretary”, a designation which, according to the Mamata Banerjee camp, has never been conferred upon him by the organisation.
Another complaint referred to a meeting convened for Kolkata’s TMC councillors by leaders of the breakaway faction, alleging that invitations were issued under unauthorised party designations.
Ritabrata Banejee, however, has dismissed the allegations. “Anyone can file a complaint. There is law in the country, and there is the Election Commission. Let there be faith in the law and the ECI,” he said.
