The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday named Barasat MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar as its new Lok Sabha chief whip, and actor-MP Satabdi Roy as its deputy leader in the House.
Ghosh Dastidar took over from Serampore MP Kalyan Banerjee, who quit the position on Monday after a series of altercations with party colleague Mahua Moitra, Lok Sabha MP from Krishnanagar.
“Shri Kalyan Banerjee resigned yesterday as the Chief Whip of the @AITCofficial Parliamentary Party in the Lok Sabha to the Chairperson. The Chairperson has accepted his resignation and has thanked him for his services in this position,” the TMC tweeted on X.
“In consultation with senior parliamentarians, the Chairperson has nominated Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar as the new Chief Whip of the @AITCofficial in the Lok Sabha and Smt Satabdi Roy as the new Deputy Leader of the AITC in the Lok Sabha with immediate effect,” it further stated.
Moitra was one of the first TMC leaders to congratulate Roy and Ghosh Dastidar on their new appointments.
“Heartfelt wishes to my senior fellow @kakoligdastidar & @SatabdiRoyMP on being nominated Chief Whip & Deputy Leader of AITC in Lok Sabha. God bless & shine on!” she tweeted on X.
Kalyan Banerjee vented out his frustration on public platforms on Monday, blaming reluctant TMC MPs for the “absence of coordination among party MPs in Lok Sabha” that resulted in his resignation. But, he humorously defended his move to give up the position of chief whip, saying that he must have been the only one responsible for the situation.
He, however, tweeted to thank TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee for accepting his resignation.
“To The Chairperson, Thanks for accepting my resignation. Regards. Kalyan Banerjee," he posted on X, tagging his party and the West Bengal CM in the post.
The TMC had on Monday appointed its national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee as its leader in Lok Sabha. Roy, the MP of Birbhum, will assist him in his new role.
Both Ghosh Dastidar and Roy are four-time MPs.
Going on to assail Moitra, Kalyan Banerjee indicated that in 2023 he was with her when she was “under fire in Parliament”.
“I did it out of conviction, not compulsion. Now, she is repaying that support by calling me a misogynist. I am sorry for the country to have defended someone who so clearly lacks rudimentary gratitude. Let people read her words for what they are and judge accordingly,” he wrote on X today, tagging the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party along with the TMC.
Also read: Kalyan Banerjee quits as TMC's Lok Sabha chief whip
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