Trinamool Congress Faces Internal Turmoil Over Party Funds

The crisis in the Trinamool Congress deepened on Friday after dissident MLAs led by Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee lodged a police complaint seeking a probe into the party's funds, a day after former treasurer Aroop Biswas wrote to a bank seeking a freeze on the party's account in Kolkata. Meanwhile, former West Bengal minister Jyotipriya Mallick resigned from all organisational posts in the party, while Siliguri Mayor Goutam Deb stepped down from his civic post, citing separate reasons.

In a complaint to Bidhannagar Police Station, the dissident MLAs sought an investigation into the funds lying in the Trinamool Congress' bank account. Sources said the account holds deposits of around ₹675 crore.

Banerjee alleged that the source of the funds needed to be investigated. "Whether the money in the account is from cut money or extortion cannot be ascertained. That is why our MLAs have approached the police," he said. The Opposition bloc led by Banerjee has 64 dissident MLAs.

On June 5, following the party's defeat, former CM Mamata Banerjee announced an organisational reshuffle, replacing Aroop Biswas with Subhasish Chakraborty as treasurer.

Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh questioned the dissidents' move. "If the MLAs found any anomaly in the party's funds, they should have informed the party supremo. Is their priority to seek legal action or to put the party in trouble?" he said.

A senior Trinamool leader told ET that the MLA who wrote to the bank "may have acted to protect himself". "If the letter was sent after the organisational reshuffle, it would have no validity," the leader said.

Banerjee reiterated his demand for a probe, alleging that the funds "may have come from cut money or corruption and may have been used for chartered flights". "Our MLAs have lodged a written FIR seeking an investigation," he said.

In his letter, Aroop Biswas said that in view of the "present dispute regarding the authority and control of the organisation", he had a "strong and bona fide apprehension" that signed cheques already in circulation or in the custody of persons "whose authority is under dispute" could be misused or encashed without proper authorisation.

He warned that there was a "real and imminent risk" of unauthorised transactions through the account, which could expose both the organisation and him, as treasurer, to legal liability while the dispute remained unresolved.

Seeking "urgent and immediate precautionary measures", Biswas urged the private bank's Central Plaza branch not to permit any transactions in the account until the dispute was resolved by the competent authority. He said the request was made solely to safeguard the party's funds and prevent any unauthorised or disputed operation of the account.

In a related development, an appeal was filed before a division bench of the Calcutta HC challenging a single judge's order upholding the Bengal Assembly Speaker's decision recognising Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of Opposition.