The infighting within the Trinamul Congress came to light once again on Wednesday with rebel party MLA of Sealdah Shikha Mitra launching a scathing attack against Kolkata mayor Sovan Chatterjee claiming that she had drew his attention to the fire hazards at the market building which falls in her Assembly constituency.
She also took a dig at Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee saying that the chief minister’s compensation cannot make up for the loss of lives. Her sharp comments triggered a fresh controversy.
Shikha, the wife of heavyweight Trinamul MP Somen Mitra, was seen camping with her followers at the fire site. When asked about the fire at Surya Sen Market, Ms Mitra erupted in fury. She alleged, “Despite being an MLA, I have not been able to work in my own constituency because local councillor Aparajita Dasgupta (of ward no. 49) does not cooperate with me. I do not know why she does not want to hold a meeting with me. A year ago, I had written to the mayor and chief whip about the plight of the market and urged them to make arrangements as the roads are very narrow here.”
Ms Mitra further claimed, “But no response came. I do not why.”
On the chief minister’s announcement of compensation, she added: “Can a compensation fill up the loss of lives? It cannot.”
State fire minister Javed Ahmed Khan, however, doubted her claims. Countering her charges, he instead claimed that she was trying to shrug off her responsibility. “If she is such a responsible and knowledgeable MLA, why did she wrote to the mayor about the fire hazards? The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and state fire departments are two different statutory bodies who have their respective tasks. Had she written to me, steps would have been taken surely. But she did not do that,” Mr Khan said.
Mr Chatterjee, who was also at the spot, however, refused to comment.