Tmc leaderS mIffed wIth mamata over narada handlIng

‘She is fighting her own ego battles with the Prime Minister, which is creating trouble for the party’, say TMC leaders.

Disenchantment is growing among several senior leaders of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) against their leadership after an FIR was registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against 13 top TMC leaders earlier this week in connection with the Narada sting operation.

The CBI on Monday registered an FIR in the Narada sting operation case against 13 TMC politcians, including top leaders like Firhad Hakim, Saugata Roy, Mukul Roy and Madan Mitra, among others.

The FIR was registered by the CBI after the Calcutta High Court ordered the CBI to investigate the Narada tapes, in which senior TMC leaders are purportedly seen accepting wads of cash.

According to highlyplaced sources within the TMC, among the several leaders who are reportedly unhappy with the top leadership are senior ministers in the Mamata Banerjee Cabinet, as well as close aides of the Chief Minister.

Not only ministers, even some MPs whose names figured in the Narada sting operation, also seem to be unhappy with the manner in which the party has been handling the sting case.

A source close to a senior TMC leader told this newspaper, “The party is not being able to handle the Narada case properly. If gthey (the TMC leadership) had wanted, they could have avoided this entire mess which the party is going through now.”

“This case has also led to disappointment among several leaders within the par- ty. Some had also requested Didi (Mamata Banerjee) to speak to the Prime Minister on this issue, but she refused to do that. She is fighting her own ego battles with the Prime Minister, which is creating trouble for the party,” a source added.

Some leaders have also criticised the “aggressive approach” adopted by the party against the Centre.

With a sense of disappointment against the TMC and the growing presence of the BJP in the state, some TMC leaders are also working on the option of joining the BJP before the upcom- ing 2018 panchayat polls. This could come as a blow to the ruling party.

A top BJP functionary in the state has also confirmed that some leaders of the ruling party have been in touch with them regularly and the party (BJP) is expecting some positive move from these leaders before the local body elections due next year.

However, the BJP has refused to name the leaders who have been in touch with them. A BJP leader said, “When the time will come, we will announce the names to the media.”