Kalyan Banerjee refutes Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar’s ‘verbal abuse’ allegation, says will ask LS Speaker to provide sanction against her in Narada case

Kolkata: In what appears to be a widening rift within the Trinamool Congress, the party’s Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha, Kalyan Banerjee on Thursday refuted the allegations made against him by fellow MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, and said that he would now write to Speaker Om Birla seeking he provide the sanction sought by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to prosecute her in the Narada sting operation case.

Notably, sanctions in the case were also sought against Trinamool MPs Saugata Roy and Prasun Banerjee.

Ghosh Dastidar, on Thursday, wrote to the Speaker seeking his permission to file an official complaint against Banerjee, accusing him of “repeatedly verbally abusing” her within the lower house, along with instances of showing disrespect towards fellow Trinamool MPs.

Addressing the media, Banerjee said: “If I have done something which is uncalled for and unethical, then the rule is to immediately inform the (Lok Sabha) Speaker. That will be decided by the Privilege Committee.”

However, he maintained that the complaint letter cannot be written according to as and when one wishes.

Refuting Ghosh Dastidar’s allegations, he said: “All these are fake allegations, but she is using this to create a ground. She is angry because I have replaced her as Chief Whip.”

Banerjee asked her to specify when and where he made the alleged abuses.

“Even though the allegations are fake, I am saying that if one makes such remarks in the Lok Sabha, the rule is to write to the Speaker at that time. Why did she not write then?” he said.

“Her attendance is so poor in the House; when did I make such remarks?”

Responding to questions over allegations that such remarks were made by Banerjee against other women MPs as well, he said: “That I will answer when the other women MPs make a complaint. Her (Ghosh Dastidar) statement cannot be treated as the statement of the other women MPs.”

Referring to the Narada sting operation, made public in 2016, after which the CBI sought sanction from the Lok Sabha Speaker to prosecute Trinamool MPs Ghosh Dastidar, Roy and Prasun Banerjee in the case, he said: “I would write to the Speaker to provide the sanctions against her. She was caught taking Rs 5 lakh bribe on camera. The CBI has conducted an investigation, and several Bengal Ministers have been previously arrested; then why would she be considered privileged? Why is the sanction not being given against her?”

“I am reiterating that she (Dastidar) had taken Rs 5 lakh as a bribe. Let her file as many defamation cases as she wants,” he added.

Moreover, he accused Ghosh Dastidar of treating those who pursued education in West Bengal as “uneducated”. “I have studied in West Bengal, she has studied in London, that is why she considers me uneducated,” he said.

Banerjee also remarked that many leaders have changed their opinions after the West Bengal Assembly result on May 4.

IANS