Rajib Banerjee resigns as Minister, fresh worries for Mamata's TMC

KOLKATA: West Bengal Forest Minister, Rajib Banerjee on Friday resigned from Trinamool Congress in a fresh worry for the party.

The cabinet minister did not mention any reasons for his decision. But it comes in the midst of a recent series of exits from the Trinamool Congress.

Of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as head of state for the March-April elections to the Assembly.

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Mr Banerjee said in his letter to the Chief Minister, which was later approved by Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar. “I regret to inform you that I hereby tender my resignation from my Office as Cabinet Minister. Being in charge of Forest Department on today, i.e., On 22nd of January, 2021.” He is the third minister in one month to resign from the state government.

His resignation comes days after he spoke about propaganda. Being carried out against him by “some leaders in the Trinamool Congress (TMC)” Over the past two months, he has struck many discordant notes against the government and the opposition. Partha Chatterjee, the senior TMC leader and minister, had held at least two rounds of talks with him.

“There are a few leaders in the party who only exploit workers. They run false propaganda against me using some party workers,” he said during a Facebook Live session on January 16, according to an ANI post. He, however, revealed no names.

In December, after an extended period of confusion, another West Bengal cabinet minister, Suvendu Adhikari, left the government and the Trinamool Congress, only to immediately join the BJP. A significant number of other TMC functionaries and leaders preceded him.

Minister of State for Sports Laxmi Ratan Shukla resigned on January 5. However, as an MLA or from the party, he has not left.

In the meantime, the national party is spending substantial time and resources to replace the position of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool government.

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