The Trinamool Congress removed Kunal Ghosh from the post of party’s West Bengal General Secretary on May 1, hours after he praised Bharatiya Janata Party‘s (BJP) Calcutta North candidate Tapas Ray.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led party said in an official notice that Ghosh was removed for expressing views that did not align with those of the TMC.
“These are his personal opinions and should not be attributed to the party,” the TMC said in the notice.
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“Mr Ghosh was previously relieved from his role as party spokesperson. Now, he has been removed from the position of General Secretary of the state organization,” the TMC said in the statement.
Later in the evening, Kunal Ghosh denied receiving any official letter of dismissal from TMC post. “I have not received any official letter through WhatsApp or email but I have seen a press release. I had already left the position of Spokesperson and General Secretary. I had tweeted about it. I had removed it from the bio of my X (Twitter) handle much earlier. If someone says today that they have removed me, then it is not correct. I had already left the position…” Kunal Ghosh said.
Earlier in the day, Ghosh shared the stage with Tapas Ray, and called him a “true mass leader”. Ray, a four-term TMC MLA, joined the BJP in March after the party of Parliament re-nominated its incumbent Member Sudip Bandopadhyay in the Calcutta North seat. The BJP has fielded Ray against Bandopadhyay.
“Tapas Ray is a true mass leader. His doors are always open for party workers and people. I have known him for several decades. Unfortunately, our paths are now different as Tapas-da despite our best efforts to retain him was unsuccessful,” Ghosh said in Bandopadhyay’s praise.
Ghosh said that the event was not a political function, but a blood donation programme organised by a local club. “I consider Tapas Ray as a good human being and a good politician, and I have said it,” he had said.
Calcutta North will go to polls in the last phase on June 1. The results will be announced on June 4
The BJP had won 18 of 42 seats of West Bengal in 2019 Lok Sabha Elections.
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Published: 01 May 2024, 06:10 PM IST