Kalyan Banerjee says Mahua Moitra lacks basic gratitude: 'Apologise to nation for backing her in Parliament'

The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday accepted the resignation of Kalyan Banerjee as the party's chief whip in Lok Sabha. (File Photo)

Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee on Tuesday lashed out at fellow party MP in Lok Sabha Mahua Moitra, saying she lacked basic gratitude and said he wished to apologise to the country for supporting her during a period of crisis in Parliament.

"In 2023, I stood by Ms. Moitra when she was under fire in Parliament - I did so out of conviction, not compulsion. Today, she repays that support by calling me a misogynist. I owe the nation an apology for having defended someone who clearly lacks basic gratitude. Let people see her words for what they are and judge accordingly," Banerjee, the Serampore MP, said in a post on X a day after he resigned as the party's chief whip in the Lower House.

Banerjee also shared a video of his speech in the Lok Sabha from 2023 when Mahua was under fire over alleged breach of parliamentary privilege.

The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday accepted Banerjee's resignation and announced the appointment of party MPs Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Satabdi Roy as Chief Whip and Deputy Leader of the party in Lok Sabha, respectively. Moitra was quick to congratulate her party colleagues for their elevation.

"Heartfelt congratulations to my senior colleagues @kakoligdastidar & @SatabdiRoyMP for being nominated Chief Whip & Deputy Leader of AITC in Lok Sabha. God bless & shine on," she posted on X.

Banerjee' latest outburst against Moitra comes after months of acrimony between the two leaders, often leaving the party in an embarrassing situation. The latest outburst began after Moitra, questioned in a podcast on Banerjee's remarks on her, said: "You don't wrestle with a pig. Because the pig likes it and you get dirty. There are deeply misogynistic, sexually frustrated, depraved men in India and they have their representation in Parliament across all parties."

This was the second time that Moitra called out Banerjee. After the alleged rape of a law student in a college campus in June this year, Banerjee had said that the police could not ensure security everywhere. "If a friend rapes a friend, how can you ensure security? Will there be police in schools?" he said. As the TMC distanced itself from the remarks, Moitra said "misogyny runs across party lines".

As controversy over Motira's remarks flared up, Banerjee lined up a personal attack against her over her recent marriage to former BJD MP Pinaki Misra. "She is saying I am anti-women. What is she? She has broken up a family and married a 65-year-old guy. And she is saying I am anti-women," he said.

Responding to Moitra's latest "pig" barbs against him, Banerjee on Tuesday said he has raised questions of public accountability and personal conduct, which every public figure must be prepared to face - man or woman.

"If those facts are inconvenient or uncomfortable, it does not justify branding legitimate criticism as 'misogyny' to escape scrutiny. Labeling a male colleague as 'sexually frustrated' isn't boldness - it's outright abuse. If such language were directed at a woman, there would be nationwide outrage, and rightly so. But when a man is the target, it's dismissed or even applauded. Let's be clear: abuse is abuse - regardless of gender," Banerjee said on Monday.