Kolkata, Jun 15 (PTI) Leader of the Trinamool Congress’s rebel faction in Lok Sabha, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, has written to Speaker Om Birla seeking expulsion of Mamata Banerjee loyalist, Kalyan Banerjee, on grounds of “repeated verbal abuse, misogynistic comments and misconduct” within the precincts of the Lower House.
Ghosh Dastidar’s letter demanding Kalyan Banerjee’s expulsion was written as a follow-up to a complaint against the Sreerampur MP on May 28 and amid the acrimonious rift within the party, with the advocate slamming the dissident parliamentarians and daring them to “contest on BJP ticket if (they) have courage”.
“On several occasions, Mr Kalyan Banerjee has used objectionable, disrespectful and inappropriate language against me and other women members during the sittings and proceedings of the House. Such conduct is unbecoming of a Member of Parliament and undermines the dignity, decorum and standards of parliamentary debate expected from elected representatives,” the letter, seeking the Speaker’s intervention, stated.
Ghosh Dastidar alleged the “objectionable conduct” was not “an isolated event”, but a “recurring pattern of behaviour”.
She accused Banerjee of resorting to personal attacks, intimidation and misogynistic comments directed at her.
“Such behaviour goes beyond the limits of robust political disagreement or parliamentary debate and enters the realm of personal abuse and harassment. The conduct has not only caused personal anguish but has also created an atmosphere that discourages the free participation of women in parliamentary proceedings,” the dissident TMC MP from West Bengal’s Barasat seat wrote in the letter dated June 10.
Ghosh Dastidar urged the Speaker to take cognisance of the “repeated verbal abuse and misconduct” of Banerjee and appealed for “imposition of… punishment or disciplinary action as may be considered appropriate by the House, including immediate expulsion…”.
On Sunday, Ghosh Dastidar led a group of 20 rebel TMC MPs in the Lok Sabha and met the Lok Sabha Speaker seeking a separate seating arrangement in the House, while announcing the bloc’s merger with the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI).
Speaking to reporters after the meeting with Birla, Ghosh Dastidar said all 20 TMC MPs had signed a representation submitted to the Speaker.
