Party footsoldiers will fight battle from within: TMC on Sircar exit

KOLKATA: A cautious Trinamool Congress on Sunday tried to rein in discordant voices within the party and said resignation was Jawhar Sircar's personal prerogative, to which it had nothing to add.

But the party also agreed with Sircar's "anxieties" and observations", saying while "course correction" was the need of the hour, foot soldiers would fight the battle from within the Trinamool fold.

The reaction to the Rajya Sabha MP's resignation came from former Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Ghosh. "He (Sircar) is highly respected and accomplished," Ghosh said. "Any step he takes is his personal decision, nothing to comment on that. That is his freedom. He has worked at the topmost echelons of govt as a bureaucrat, he is a sensitive person. He has made a decision, I will not add a single word to it."

"The anxieties which Sircar has spoken about and his observations... we have no second views on some of it. But people like us, who are the party's foot soldiers, will fight this battle from the party fold," Ghosh added.

Ghosh's reactions came in the backdrop of multiple young party functionaries hitting out at Sircar for "running away from the battlefield".

The party's youngest Lok Sabha candidate, Debangshu Bhattacharya, alluding to Sircar, said: "A water hyacinth floats with the tide. It takes a man to swim against the tide." Several young leaders also took to their X handles to question the party leadership's strategy in bringing in lateral entrants for Rajya Sabha, overlooking loyal party veterans.

Ghosh did not wade into this. "It is his (Sircar's) freedom to do whatever he does, and we respect that. It is our freedom to stay in the party and fight back. That we will do," he said.

Ghosh, in fact, seemed to back Sircar's demand for a course-correction. "His anxieties and observations (in the letter) also reflect questions being asked by the people. On some issues, I and some of my party colleagues, also agree with him. Political parties are using this to poison people's minds. But we will raise this within the party. We also believe visible, positive steps are necessary. We will fight for it, staying within the party fold. Only meetings and rallies will not suffice, we are hopeful that all necessary decisive actions will be taken by the party," Ghosh said.

Ghosh said Sircar had pointed out that course-correction was necessary to fight back communal forces who were eyeing Bengal: "He says in his letter that he is grateful to CM Mamata Banerjee and he also speaks of the need to fight back communal forces."