The Trinamul Congress’ disciplinary committee, looking after issues in connection with the party MLAs in the state legislative Assembly on Wednesday served a show-cause notice to its legislator Humayun Kabir of Bharatpur constituency in Murshidabad on charge of making anti-party statements, regularly.
The five-member disciplinary committee headed by the veteran party MLA and agriculture minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay this afternoon decided to serve the notice to Mr Kabir seeking his clarifications within three days after receiving it.
The other members of the committee are Firhad Hakim, Chandrima Bhattacharya, Arup Biswas and Debashis Kumar.
Mr Kabir while speaking to the reporters at the Assembly said that he has not yet received the notice till this evening. He has threatened to stick to criticising his party leadership for not making Abhishek Banerjee, all India general secretary of the party, deputy chief minister to look after the home department in the state.
The chief minister Mamata Banerjee heads the home department.
Today, Mr Kabir said, “I will give a fitting reply to the party leadership after I get the show-cause notice. How can it be a breach of discipline if I say something for Abhishek Banerjee? My stand is clear and what I have said earlier demanding the party leadership to make Abhishek Banerjee a deputy chief minister is nothing wrong. I am not afraid of anybody in politics.”
With serving of the show-cause letter the Bharatpur MLA is likely to be the first Trinamul leader to face the state’s ruling party’s newly constituted disciplinary committee for legislators.
Mr Kabir will be served the notice by tonight by the disciplinary committee for his repeated outbursts against a section of the party leadership.
“He has been speaking against the party for a long time now,” said a top Trinamul leader. “There is no doubt that Mamata Banerjee is our undisputed leader and will remain so till the moment she decides to make any changes. The disciplinary committee will act as per the instructions of the chief minister. If he fails to come up with a satisfactory response appropriate action will be taken,” the Trinamul leader added requesting anonymity.
On Monday, during a meeting of the national working committee of the party at Kalighat, Miss Banerjee had announced three disciplinary committees to rein in errant party leaders.
Mr Kabir, who had quit the Trinamul and contested unsuccessfully from Murshidabad as a BJP nominee in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, had returned to his parent party and subsequently became an MLA in the 2021 Assembly polls.
In 2015, the Trinamul Congress leadership had expelled Mr Kabir for six years for continuing anti-party statements. A one-time confidante of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, former president of Congress in West Bengal, had joined Trinamul Congress in 2012.
“I have doubts over the intentions of those close to Didi. Do they truly want to see her in power in Bengal for long?” Mr Kabir had asked on Tuesday.