KOLKATA/NEW DELHI: A video of a verbal spat, and screenshots of heated exchanges between TMC MPs Kalyan Banerjee and Kirti Azad in the party’s official WhatsApp group, shared by BJP’s Amit Malviya, went viral on Tuesday, bringing to fore deep fissures within the Bengal’s ruling party. BJP’s IT cell head Malviya stoked the row by posting screenshots and videos of the exchanges on X, claiming the spat was evidence of the TMC’s internal implosion. PTI, however, could not independently verify the authenticity of the screenshots and the videos.
The controversy began on April 4 when a TMC delegation visited the Election Commission to submit a memorandum regarding duplicate voter identity cards, according to Malviya and sources within the Mamata Banerjee-led party. TMC MP Mahua Moitra reportedly confronted Kalyan Banerjee — the party’s chief whip in Lok Sabha — for allegedly excluding her from the list of signatories on the memorandum that the delegation was submitting to the EC.
An altercation broke out between the two MPs on the premises of the EC office, with Kalyan Banerjee later claiming that Moitra had asked the security personnel present there to arrest him, accusing him of misconduct. As the incident came to the fore, another senior TMC MP, Saugata Roy, said Moitra was crying after the altercation.
“What he has done has maligned the party. He should be immediately removed as the chief whip. Kalyan Banerjee is known for his intemperate and uncivilised behaviour,” Roy said. Under attack, Banerjee addressed a press conference on the issue.
“I have been in politics for the last 40 years. This woman MP was asking the security outside the EC office to arrest me. Who are they to send me to jail? She hurled abuses at me. I fight in Parliament. I’m not obsessed with one industrial house,” he said. Without naming Moitra directly, he added, “Just because the woman MP speaks fluent English doesn’t mean she can insult anybody.” Moitra, when contacted by PTI, declined to comment on the episode.
Roy said that although he was not present during the spat at the EC office, he saw Moitra crying and complaining to other MPs at Vijay Chowk. “She told other MPs he behaved in an uncivilised manner. He has a history — from calling Jyotiraditya Scindia a ‘lady killer’ to throwing a bottle during a JPC meeting. I have remained silent so far, but this can’t go on,” he said.
The situation worsened after the spat spilled over to the official TMC MPs’ WhatsApp group, where Banerjee and TMC MP Kirti Azad had engaged in a fresh exchange. Screenshots of the chat, shared by Malviya on social media, showed Banerjee making several snide remarks directed at a “versatile international lady”.
“Send your BSF and Delhi Police to arrest me. Your home ministry’s connection is very strong, international great lady,” read one message attributed to Banerjee. In another purported message, he wrote, “That day not a single boyfriend… Stood behind her… Today, of course… Famous player stood behind her to get me arrested.” Former cricketer Azad responded sharply in the chat, stating that Banerjee was behaving like a “juvenile delinquent”.
Banerjee then mocked Azad, calling him “captain of internal politics”, and ridiculed him over his electoral defeat in cricket administration. The feud dates back even earlier, according to party insiders. Banerjee had reportedly objected to a proposal by Azad to open a ‘sandesh’ (Bengali sweet) stall in Parliament House. Banerjee had argued that if any outlet was to be opened, it should be a state government franchise.
Party sources said Moitra exited the MPs’ WhatsApp group after the EC incident and sent letters detailing her grievances to Mamata Banerjee, the party supremo, and TMC’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. It was learnt that Kalyan Banerjee also had verbally complained to the West Bengal CM about the incident.
Senior TMC leaders confirmed to PTI that the matter has been escalated to the level of Mamata Banerjee, who is expected to take a final call on the issue. “I feel the time has come to act against Kalyan Banerjee and remove him from the party. Let the leadership take a call,” Roy said. Meanwhile, Malviya took jibes at the TMC, posting, “Soon after the public spat between two TMC MPs in the precincts of the Election Commission…The irate MP continued slandering the ‘Versatile International Lady (VIL)’… This is the stuff legends are made of!” “It is obvious that the chat screenshots and videos of TMC MPs squabbling have been leaked from within… Help Mamata Banerjee figure out who leaked them,” he wrote.
