Mamata Banerjee looks beyond Mukul Roy, takes party reins

KOLKATA: Mamata Banerjee's meeting with senior party leaders at her Kolkata residence on Friday turned out to be an epilogue for Mukul Roy. The Trinamool Congress chief made it clear that the party would move on without Mukul who had flown back to Delhi on Thursday, just before the crucial meeting.
"Ekta Mukul gele, lakh lakh Mukul rastai nambe. Amra onek Mukul toiri korbo (if one Mukul goes, lakhs of Mukul will hit the streets. We will create many more Mukuls)," she said. From fine-tuning the nomination process to pulling party workers out of the Saradha morass, Mamata was hands-on with every aspect.

Exit Mukul, enter Abhishek. This was the buzz though Abhishek Banerjee's coronation as Mamata's No. 2 had become quite apparent from the Trinamool rally in Delhi. However, Mamata included her nephew, Abhishek's name on the list of "vulnerable" functionaries. "Ekhon ki etao biswas korte hobe je Abhishek taka niyechhe (Am I to believe that even Abhishek has taken money)?" the Trinamool chief said.

"This is an effort to ruin Trinamool Congress. Chit funds are everywhere. They originated much before us. Yet, it is only our party functionaries who are being selectively targeted. Why? Because they (BJP) fear us. If this is a battle which has to be fought, we will fight this too. We have never shied away from speaking the truth," Mamata said, accusing BJP and a media house of deliberately targeting Trinamool.

Mamata made it clear that the party would back all its functionaries whose names are being dragged into the Saradha scam. "If they have proof, let them come forward and say so. Let them file chargesheets. But they are selectively leaking information, much of it not even credible, via the media. Even questionnaires are being relayed through the media. Is this how an investigative agency works?" she asked.

Former Trinamool minister Manjul Krishna Thakur's switching to BJP came up for discussion. "Bhaloi hoyeche, sob benojol beriye jachche (Good riddance. The bad blood has gone out). Those who want to leave the party may do so. The party has no room for Mir Jafars (traitors)," Mamata said.