Didi Wants Guv To Sack Her For Refusing To Quit As CM

Kolkata: Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday indicated she would not resign as Chief Minister despite the party’s defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections, and said she was prepared for dismissal by Governor R.N. Ravi, which could lead to President’s Rule in the state.

At a meeting with newly elected TMC legislators at her Kalighat residence, she also indicated plans to challenge the poll outcome legally, including approaching the Supreme Court. She tasked outgoing Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee with exploring legal options.

According to party sources, Mamata Banerjee told legislators she had not resigned as a protest against what she termed a “forcible defeat by loot of votes by BJP with the help of the Election Commission in the polls.” She is said to have suggested that dismissal and dissolution of the Assembly could follow.

The meeting did not finalise the leader of the Opposition, with several MLAs absent. She also asked party legislators to attend the first Assembly session dressed in black.

During the meeting, she defended her nephew Abhishek Banerjee amid internal criticism and directed legislators to support him. A disciplinary committee was constituted to act against dissent within the party.

In a statement, the party said, “It has come to our attention that certain leaders have recently expressed their views in the media which are being construed as the official position of the Party.”

It added, “We wish to clarify that any such statements made in the media or shared on social media platforms represent the personal views of the individuals concerned. It should not be interpreted as the official stance unless officially communicated through authorised channels of the Party.”

The developments follow criticism by former MLAs Atin Ghosh and Rabindranath Ghosh over the role of party strategist I-PAC.

Separately, security deployment was withdrawn from Abhishek Banerjee’s residence in Kolkata earlier in the day.