Has Revolt In Her Backyard Muted Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra In Lok Sabha?

Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra, who is known for her strident combativeness both inside and outside the House, has turned uncharacteristically meek. 

She has not, as in the past, taken the lead in criticising the NDA government at the centre or in crossing swords with the treasury benches. Instead, Moitra has been atypically quiet and has not even given the regular and sarcastic or scathing soundbites to TV cameras. 

The reason, perhaps, is the banner of revolt raised against her by senior Trinamool leaders and public representatives in her turf--Krishnanagar.

Moitra is a two-time MP from Krishnanagar Lok Sabha seat that falls in Bengal’s Nadia district. 

Five MLAs from Krishnanagar and one from the Karimpur Assembly seat (also in Nadia district) wrote to party chairperson Mamata Banerjee listing serious complaints against Moitra. 

Moitra has been accused of keeping herself away from public representatives as well as party workers and ignoring them, being haughty and elitist, acting arbitrarily, promoting her cronies and sycophants, playing favourites and creating divisions within the party. 

The letter sent to Mamata Banerjee, with a copy to state party president Subrata Bakshi, earlier this month was signed by Chapra MLA Rukbanur Rahman, Kaliganj MLA Nasiruddin Ahamed, Nakashipara MLA Kallol Khan, Krishnanagar Dakshin MLA Ujjwal Biswas, Palashipara MLA Manik Bhattacharya and Karimpur MLA Bimalendu Singha Roy. 

Biswas is also the Science & Technology Minister in Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet. The Krishnanagar Lok Sabha seat comprises seven Assembly segments and five of those MLAs have signed the letter against Moitra. 

The other two Assembly seats under Krishnanagar parliamentary constituency are held by Mukul Roy (Krishnanagar Uttar) and Tapas Kumar Saha (Tehatta). Roy is ailing while Saha is under the lens of the CBI for his alleged involvement in the education department recruitment scam. 

The MLAs, in their letter to the party chairperson, demanded Moitra’s removal from the post of party’s Nadia district president. 

The MLAs accused her of appointing her cronies and sycophants arbitrarily to party posts without consulting district party leaders and MLAs. They complained that the Krishnanagar MP had changed 178 booth presidents, 17 anchal presidents as well as presidents of some blocks without the knowledge of other party leaders. 

They also accused Moitra of not only spending most of her time away from Krishnanagar, but also not receiving their calls and neglecting important party work. 

The MLAs followed up the letter with a meeting with Mamata Banerjee at her Assembly chamber Monday (December 9). Banerjee heard them out and told them that the issues raised by them would be discussed in detail at the party’s district-wise meetings to discuss organisational matters. 

Moitra is, understandably, apprehensive of a tongue-lashing from her party chief. She had been publicly rebuked by Mamata Banerjee a couple of times in the past for playing favourites and creating rifts within the party and also for keeping herself aloof from the rank and file of the party. 

“She (Moitra) is conceited and contemptuous towards us. She does not receive our calls, and is barely available in Krishnanagar. Even when she is in her constituency, she is surrounded by her cronies and we (the MLAs) find it impossible to meet her. By playing favourites and promoting her sycophants, she is creating a lot of bad blood within the party,” one of the MLAs who signed the letter against Moitra told Swarajya. 

The revolt against Moitra had been brewing for some time and she got information about the MLAs planning to lodge a formal complaint against her a week or so before the winter session of Parliament started late last month. 

The Trinamool’s district-wise organisational meetings will start from the beginning of the fourth week of this month after the winter session of Parliament ends December 20. 

Moitra is scared of being upbraided by Mamata Banerjee once again and of being removed from the party’s Nadia district president’s post. It’s her nervousness over the axe that’s about to fall on her that may have dampened her spirits and sobered her down during the ongoing Parliament session.