Haldia (West Bengal): Former Trinamool Congress (TMC) minister in West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari is now the cynosure of all eyes in the state. Discussions regarding his next political move are raging far and wide. Well Suvendu Adhikari once more added fuel to the fire by slamming the party for its outsider-insider comment. He said those coming from other states can’t be branded as outsiders.
Adhikari had resigned from the West Bengal cabinet and had been distancing himself from the party over the last few months. He asserted he is first an Indian and then a Bengali. He also criticised the TMC leadership, saying it is giving more importance to the party than people.
Adhikari was addressing the birth anniversary celebrations of freedom fighter Satish Chandra Samanta at Haldia in Purba Medinipur district.
The insider-outsider debate has been triggered by the TMC to counter the BJP in the next Assembly polls. Adhikari said, Bengal is very much a part of India and ‘people coming from other states can’t be treated as outsiders’.
The ruling party in West Bengal has often criticised the BJP for sending its leaders from other states to campaign.
“For us, we are first Indians and then Bengalis. Satish Chandra Samanta was a stalwart parliamentarian from Medinipur. Even the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru used to respect him a lot. Satish Chandra Samanta never called Nehru an outsider. Nehru also never branded him as a non-Hindi speaking MP. There was mutual respect,” Adhikari said. He seemed to be echoing the views of the saffron party on the insider- outsider debate.
Hitting out at the TMC leadership, Adhikari said, “Why should there be a ‘by the party, for the party, of the party’ rule in Bengal? This is democracy. We need to restore the rules as per the Indian Constitution which states ‘by the people, of the people and for the people’… I am not greedy for posts. All my life, I have worked for the masses.”
An influential leader with a mass base, Adhikari said that those trying to malign him will get a befitting reply in the 2021 Assembly polls. “There are few people who are trying to malign me by saying I had yearned for posts. I want to tell them that they will get a befitting reply in the next Assembly polls,” asserted Adhikari without naming anyone.
The Nandigram MLA had been distancing himself from the party over the last few months. He is organising programmes without the TMC banner. Efforts by veteran TMC leaders like Saugata Roy and Sudip Bandopadhyay for reconciliation have failed to placate Adhikari. He is yet to disclose his future political direction, amid speculations over him joining the BJP.
Adhikari had resigned from the Mamata Banerjee cabinet and other positions that he held a few days ago. He has maintained that it is ‘difficult for him to work with the party’. Himself a two-term former MP, Adhikari’s father, Sisir Adhikari and brother Dibyendu are sitting TMC MPs from Tamluk and Kanthi Lok Sabha constituencies respectively.
The influential political family gave a miss to Banerjee’s rally in their stronghold West Medinipur district last week. It prompted her to accuse the BJP of trying to break her party by using ‘moneybags’.
The Adhikari family wields considerable influence in at least 40-45 Assembly segments in West Medinipur, Bankura, Purulia, Jhargram, parts of Birbhum – mainly in the ‘Junglemahal’ region and areas in minority-dominated Murshidabad district. His desertion may adversely impact the TMC’s prospects in these areas in the next Assembly polls.