Addressing a rally at North 24-Parganas on Tuesday, the TMC foundation day, the two leaders expressed two different views on how the party should treat the ‘late entrants’.
Saugata said that those who joined Trinamool after Singur and Nandigram movements should be placed “at the second row of leadership” and those associated with the party since its inception must occupy the first row.
Mukul, on the other hand, said that there’s nothing wrong in giving importance to the ‘late comers’. Contradicting Saugata from the same dais, he said that many “intellectuals” joined the party long after its inception, and the party is like a family where everyone stays together.
Saugata’s comments were seen in the light of a recent incident in which senior party MLA Sovondeb Chattopadhyay was assaulted by supporters of those who had joined the party after 2006. This is the second time Saugata has openly spoken against those who were awarded ministerial jobs despite joining the party recently. He had said this earlier at a rally in Kolkata on July 21.
The latest addition to the list of new comers are Humayun Kabir and Krishnendu Narayan Chowdhury — both of whom have been made ministers.