Senior Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee has stepped down as the party’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha following a public fallout with fellow MP Mahua Moitra, who referred to him using a derogatory metaphor in a podcast.
The jibe drew criticism from Banerjee, prompting a heated exchange and eventually his resignation, which the party accepted on Tuesday.
In swift response, Trinamool Congress announced several leadership changes: MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar has been appointed as the new chief whip, Satabdi Roy as deputy leader, and general secretary Abhishek Banerjee will now lead the party in the Lok Sabha, replacing veteran MP Sudip Bandopadhyay.
Moitra’s remarks—”You don’t wrestle with a pig. Because the pig likes it and you get dirty,”—were made while discussing Banerjee’s comments on her personal life. Banerjee condemned the statement, calling it “dehumanising” and disrespectful to parliamentary norms.
The reshuffle signals an internal recalibration as the party attempts to contain the fallout and restore discipline within its parliamentary ranks.
