Yogeeta Bali, son to stand in for Mithun

KOLKATA: Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan may dominate the glam factor buzz around Mamata Banerjee’s swearing in, but the sizeable Mithun Chakraborty fan following is also waiting with bated breath. For, Mithun has not come to Kolkata since inaugurating a Durga Puja in Kasba last year.
This Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP’s low attendance in Parliament, and his surrendering his diplomatic passport, fuelled speculation that he might sever ties with Trinamool, and even quit Parliament.Trinamool insiders say Mithun isn’t keeping well. But to set speculation to rest, Mithun is sending his wife, Yogeeta Bali, and their son Mahakshaya Chakraborty to the Red Road ceremony.
Mithun had set an example in June this year by returning Rs 1.2-crore — the amount he had received as payment from Saradha Group brand ambassador. “Mithun Chakraborty is my colleague. I wish him a speedy recovery. Reports coming up in a section of the media are all speculation,” said Trinamool Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’ Brien.
However, the Trinamool camp apparently doesn’t feel the same about its once powerful RS MP K D Singh, whose tenure ends in June. Singh fell from grace after the Narada sting when it came to light that Mathew Samuel once worked with Tehelka magazine when Singh was its major stake holder.
Chances are that Singh may lose his place in the parliamentary standing committee on culture, tourism and transport. The other person in question is former railway minister Dinesh Trivedi, who narrowly escaped a party censure for speaking up against Narada-stung Trinamool netas. He is not comfortable with his party colleagues in Lok Sabha after the green sweep in Bengal and may not be chief of parliamentary standing committee much longer.