Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra engaged in a light-hearted but politically charged exchange outside the Makar Dwar of Parliament on Thursday, with Mamata Banerjee taking center stage. The interesting banter between the two took place while the TMC leader was protesting over the merger of TMC MPs with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI).
It is pertinent to mention that Kalyan Banerjee on July 22 was suspended from the Lok Sabha for the remainder of the Monsoon Session for allegedly using "unsavoury" language against women members after he had a heated exchange with NCPI members in the Lower House chamber.
Kalyan Banerjee, Priyanka Gandhi trade barbs
During the protest, Kalyan Banerjee, holding photographs of the 20 TMC leaders who had defected to the NCPI, remarked, "These are the 20 traitors who are now sitting inside Parliament."
Responding with a smile, Priyanka Gandhi quipped, "Some people first left the Congress for your party and then went to the BJP."
Kalyan Banerjee countered by arguing that the Congress had little political presence left in West Bengal. "There was nothing left for the Congress in West Bengal. That is why they came to us. Those who came from the Congress to the TMC never entered Parliament on a Congress symbol," he said, adding that he himself had once served as the vice president of the Youth Congress.
At this point, independent MP Pappu Yadav joined the conversation, saying, "Then they were Congressmen only." Kalyan replied, "We were Congressmen too."
The TMC leader then took a dig at the Congress, saying, "You people forced Didi out. Had you not sidelined Mamata Banerjee, would the Congress have been in this situation today?"
Priyanka Gandhi responded by recalling the Congress' past relationship with the TMC chief, saying, "Rajiv Gandhi ji gave Didi a lot of respect and affection."
Kalyan Banerjee agreed but added that the political equations later changed. "At that time, the Congress had aligned itself with the CPM, whereas we were always against the CPM," he said.
The TMC leader was referring to the political developments that eventually led Mamata Banerjee to part ways with the Congress and form the Trinamool Congress in 1998.
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