Mamata Banerjee backs Abhishek, blames BJP for TMC defections

Defending her nephew Abhishek Banerjee amid mounting criticism from leaders who have walked out of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), party supremo Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday (July 15) offered an apology to the people "on behalf of the traitors" and maintained that neither she nor any member of her family had ever chosen political compromise as a means of survival.

Mamata backs Abhishek

Mamata dismissed attempts to single Abhishek out for the crisis, saying he had been made an "excuse" to target the party. She also commended him for standing his ground despite repeated summons issued to him and members of his family, asserting that he had refused to seek "relief" by striking any compromise.

"Abhishek Banerjee has been turned into an excuse. His family members were summoned. Had he wanted, he could have got relief. But he did not run away from the battlefield. The way he has continued to fight, all his flaws have been forgiven," the former Chief Minister said while addressing party workers during a Facebook Live session.

Targets defectors

Her remarks come against the backdrop of a series of defections from the Mamata Banerjee-led camp, with several former senior TMC leaders accusing Abhishek Banerjee of exercising an authoritarian style of functioning and creating an atmosphere of intimidation within the organisation.

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Hitting out at the defectors, Mamata said, "I apologise before the people on behalf of the traitors. I have not sold my 'bibek' (conscience) for political survival." She alleged that she and her family had faced sustained political persecution because they had refused to compromise.

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"Had I compromised, we would not have faced so much torture. Those who have compromised have many bags and luggage of their own," she said in an apparent swipe at the defectors.

‘BJP using probe agencies’

Alleging that the BJP was using investigative agencies and police to engineer defections, she claimed many leaders had switched camps out of fear.

"We still have 18 MPs in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Those Parliamentarians who have joined the 'setting company' have done so because they are afraid of the police," she claimed.

(With agency inputs)