Mahua Moitra takes jibe at NCPI’s ‘pro-poor’ claims

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra on Sunday launched a fresh attack on the rebel faction that recently broke away from the party, ridiculing the National Citizens Party of India (NCPI) and questioning its claim of being a "pro-poor" political force.

In a sharply worded social media post, the Krishnanagar MP took aim at the Tripura-based party that has emerged as the new political home for 20 rebel Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha members, suggesting that its professed commitment to helping the poor sits uneasily with the arrival of seasoned parliamentarians who abandoned the ruling party.

"Introducing NCPI — the new party of the 20 MPs elected on @AITCofficial symbols. Its FB page says 'it helps the poor people of our society'. Really hope it manages to help these 20 not-so-poor traitors too," Moitra wrote.

Her remarks mark the latest salvo in the escalating political battle triggered by the dramatic split in the Trinamool Congress, with 20 Lok Sabha MPs led by four-time parliamentarians Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Satabdi Roy joining the virtually unknown NCPI.

Among the few MPs who have remained firmly loyal to Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, Moitra has emerged as one of the most vocal critics of the rebellion, repeatedly attacking the defectors through social media posts and public statements.

Fresh attack over frozen party accounts

Moitra also weighed in on another controversy engulfing the party — the freezing of three official Trinamool Congress bank accounts.

The accounts were frozen after former party treasurer and ex-minister Aroop Biswas reportedly wrote to the concerned banks seeking action following complaints by rebel legislators.

The rebel MLAs alleged that money generated through corruption during the previous Mamata Banerjee-led government had been deposited in the accounts. Acting on the complaints, the banks froze debit transactions from the accounts pending further developments.

Moitra dismissed the allegations and turned the spotlight back on the rebels, challenging them to explain the source of funds used during the recently concluded Assembly elections.

"This rebel group, whether MPs or MLAs, should first clarify whether the money provided to them by the party for their election campaigns was accounted or unaccounted," she said.

She argued that if the rebels genuinely believed they had benefited from unaccounted funds during their campaigns, they should surrender their electoral mandates.

"If you think that you used unaccounted money in your campaign and also got elected, then it is your moral duty to resign from the chair," Moitra said.

The Trinamool MP, however, expressed little confidence that such resignations would materialise.

"But I know that they will not resign. They are shameless people. They want to take benefits from both sides," she added.

Deepening political rift

Moitra's remarks underscore the widening gulf between the Mamata Banerjee camp and the rebel faction, with both sides trading accusations over loyalty, corruption and the future of the party.

As the political realignment gathers pace, the NCPI's emergence as a platform for dissident Trinamool leaders has added a new dimension to West Bengal's turbulent political landscape, while Moitra continues to position herself as one of the fiercest defenders of the Banerjee-led leadership against the growing rebellion.

With IANS inputs