Thank you, says Mahua Moitra after TMC appoints her Krishnanagar district chief

The Trinamool Congress on Monday appointed Mahua Moitra as president of the party’s organisational district of Krishnanagar, her Lok Sabha constituency in Bengal’s Nadia district, a decision that a party leader said was taken by TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

Moitra thanked the West Bengal chief minister. “Thank you @MamataOfficial and @AITCofficial for appointing me District President of Krishnanagar (Nadia North). Will always work with the party for the people of Krishnanagar,” she said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Moitra will replace senior leader Kallol Khan as head of the Krishnanagar unit.

“Please don’t say someone is being removed because of me. Kallol Da (elder brother) is a senior leader. He wanted to be relieved because he is not keeping well these days. I will fight for our party with full vigour,” she told reporters on Monday evening.

Moitra’s appointment comes days after the Lok Sabha ethics committee on November 9 adopted a report recommending the expulsion of Moitra for sharing her login credentials and password with an unauthorised person, its impact on national security, and finding that it amounted to unethical conduct and contempt of the House.

The report also mentioned that Moitra accepted “money — cash and kind, amenities and various other facilities” from businessman Darshan Hiranandani, with whom the password and login details were shared. Moitra has denied any wrongdoing.

The following day, Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and general secretary Abhishek Banerjee backed her up, saying action was taken against her because she questioned the central government but there was no action against BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri

“Ramesh Bidhuri shamelessly spews offensive remarks, trampling on the sanctity of Parliament. Shockingly, no action taken by the ethics committee—why? Simply because he’s a BJP politician!” Abhishek Banerjee said on Friday. “On the flip side, Smt. Mahua Moitra, not towing the BJP line, dares to question the central government on vital public matters. And what does she get? Harassment and threats of expulsion! Seems like a free pass to misbehave if you’re in the BJP! ” he added.

Apart from Krishnanagar, Monday’s announcement also named presidents of TMC units in Bankura district, Darjeeling district, South Dinajpur district, Arambagh in Hooghly district, Barasat and Basirhat in North 24 Parganas district, Berhampore and Jangipur in Murshidabad district and East Burdwan district.

There was, however, no reference to Birbhum district and its jailed district chief, Anubrata Mondal who is counted among Mamata Banerjee’s closest followers and has headed the district for 23 years.

“These are purely organisations decisions taken by Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee. They did what they thought was the best for the party. These are perfect and timely decisions,” TMC Rajya Sabha member Santanu Sen said.