Infighting among TMC MPs spills out after ‘WhatsApp chats’ get leaked
Infighting within Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress came to light on Tuesday, after a video of an alleged verbal spat between party MPs and screenshots of heated exchanges from its official WhatsApp group for parliamentarians went viral.
BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya shared the screenshots during the day, claiming the conversations showed a bitter argument between TMC MPs Kalyan Banerjee and Kirti Azad.
PTI, however, could not independently verify the authenticity of the screenshots circulating on social media.
According to Malviya, the war of words on WhatsApp was sparked by an earlier public spat at the Election Commission headquarters between two TMC parliamentarians, one of them a woman.
The MPs had reportedly gone there to submit a party memorandum, but the situation turned tense and ended in a confrontation, which later spilled over to internal party communication channels.
Speaking to reporters in Kolkata, Banerjee admitted that an altercation did take place, but pinned the blame on the woman MP.
“I have been in politics for the last 40 years. This woman MP was asking the security personnel outside the EC office to arrest me. Who are they to send me to jail? She hurled abuses towards me. It is I who fight in Parliament; I am not someone who is only obsessed with a specific industrial house,” he said.
“Just because the woman MP speaks fluent English doesn’t mean she can insult anybody,” added Banerjee, who is also the party’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha.
The woman MP concerned declined to comment when contacted by PTI.
Senior TMC leaders said the matter has been escalated to party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
According to party sources, following the altercation, the woman MP exited the WhatsApp group and sent letters to both Mamata Banerjee and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
A senior TMC leader, who requested anonymity, said the argument occurred last week when a party delegation had gone to the EC to submit a memorandum.
“After the TMC delegation arrived at the EC office, Kalyan Banerjee had a verbal spat with the woman MP over the signing of the memorandum. She then asked the security personnel to intervene and demanded his arrest, alleging misconduct towards a woman parliamentarian,” he said.
Both MPs later reportedly lodged verbal complaints with Mamata Banerjee regarding the incident.
The matter further escalated when Kalyan Banerjee and Kirti Azad had an argument on the MP’s WhatsApp group.
“It was Kirti Azad who provoked me and was lecturing me on what to do. He has leaked the WhatsApp chats,” Banerjee claimed.
Reacting to the controversy, senior TMC MP Sougata Roy blamed Kalyan Banerjee for tarnishing the party’s image.
“What he has done has maligned the party. It should immediately remove Kalyan Banerjee from the post of chief whip. He misbehaves and insults everyone in the party. It must take stern action against him,” Roy told reporters.
Earlier, while speaking to PTI, Roy had claimed ignorance about the entire incident, but said that whatever happened has defamed the party.
During the day, Malviya made a series of posts on X about the episode.
“Soon after the public spat between two TMC MPs in the precincts of the Election Commission of India on 4th April 2025, the irate MP continued slandering the ‘Versatile International Lady (VIL)’… This is the stuff legends are made of!” he posted.
“It is obvious that the chat screenshots and videos of TMC MPs squabbling have been leaked from within… Help Mamata Banerjee figure out who leaked them,” Malviya said in another post.
India