'We agree with…': TMC's Kunal Ghosh on Jawhar Sircar's letter to Mamata Banerjee
TMC MP Jawhar Sircar said he became increasingly "disillusioned" with the Bengal government as it seemed "quite unconcerned" about corruption.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Kunal Ghosh on Sunday said he agrees to a big part of Jawhar Sircar's letter to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee regarding his decision to resign as Rajya Sabha member.
“We have heard Jawhar Sircar has taken a decision. He was one of the best bureaucrats in the country, the greatest from West Bengal. It is his personal stand, decision, and letter. I won’t make a comment on it. He has the right to take a decision,” Ghosh said.
“We also agree with a big part of his letter. But our stand is that under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, we will take visible steps to address the concerns of civil society. We will try to address that by remaining in the party,” he added.
Jawhar Sircar's letter to Mamata Banerjee
The letter from Sircar, a former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who joined the Rajya Sabha in 2021, has stirred political waters in West Bengal. In his letter to TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, Sircar expressed disillusionment with the state government’s handling of corruption in the aftermath of the scandal involving the former education minister.
He criticised the party for its lack of action against corruption and "strong-arm tactics" of some leaders, which he said had caused immense public anger.
“I made a public statement that corruption must be tackled by the party and government, but I was heckled by senior leaders in the party,” Sircar wrote, explaining that despite his initial reluctance to resign, he could no longer overlook what he described as an “unchecked overbearing attitude” of certain leaders.
Sircar highlighted how he had hoped that Mamata Banerjee’s campaign against corruption would lead to significant changes, but he expressed disappointment that little had been done. He also pointed to the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital incident, where a trainee doctor was allegedly raped and murdered, as a tipping point in his decision to leave politics. He criticised the state government for being slow to act in the face of widespread protests demanding safety for women and justice for the victim.
Ghosh, in his response, sidestepped direct criticism of the party’s handling of the RG Kar incident but stressed that the matter was under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and was also being looked into by the Supreme Court. “The matter is with the CBI and the Supreme Court, they will address the problem,” Ghosh said.
Sircar’s letter also underscored his frustration with the extravagant lifestyle of some local leaders, comparing their wealth and assets to the modest lives of civil servants like himself. “I get amazed to see that several elected panchayat and municipal leaders have acquired big properties and move around in expensive vehicles. This hurts not only me, but the people of West Bengal,” he wrote.
“My commitment to fight corruption, communalism, and authoritarianism in the Centre and the States is simply non-negotiable,” he added.