KOLKATA: The chorus in TMC demanding the ouster of its Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar for criticising the alleged corruption in the party grew louder on Tuesday with several of its senior leaders saying the former bureaucrat is "free to leave" as it does not need "selfish people at the time of crisis".
Taking note of the growing resentment in the party against Sircar, Trinamool Congress said its disciplinary committee will look into the complaints.
Sircar, however, declined to comment on the issue when contacted.
Senior TMC leader and MP Sougata Roy leading the attack against Sircar said the former Prasar Bharati CEO should stop "trying to show himself as the epitome of morality".
The party should immediately initiate disciplinary action against him for violating party discipline, he demanded.
"If he (Sircar) is so embarrassed by the developments, then why is he still holding on to his post? He should immediately resign from his post of (Rajya Sabha) MP. He is free to leave the party; it won't have any impact."
"People like Jawhar Sircar had no role in TMC's struggle or the fight in the last Bengal Assembly polls. He has no contribution towards the party," Roy said.
Sircar had said on Monday that a section of TMC is "completely rotten" and that the BJP cannot be fought in the 2024 general election with such elements.
The former Prasar Bharati CEO, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Bengal a year ago on a TMC ticket, had recently said his friends and family had asked him to quit politics after party leaders Partha Chatterjee and Anubrata Mondal were arrested by central investigating agencies in connection with the alleged teacher recruitment and cattle smuggling scandals respectively.
"The party does not need selfish and opportunist people. Jawhar Sircar should immediately resign as MP. He behaves like he is the only one with public stature, and we don't have any. I will request the party leadership to take disciplinary action against him immediately," he said.
TMC spokesperson Biswajit Deb said bureaucrats like Sircar run after power.
"That is their basic nature. Mr Sircar # please show us an instance where you have done good to common people during your service tenure and thereafter@ MP. Quit asap to allow any sincere party worker to represent @RS in your place," he tweeted.
TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said the party's disciplinary committee would look into the matter.
"Till then I urge everyone not to make any comments in the public domain," he said.
Joining the refrain against Sircar, West Bengal minister Babul Supriyo disapproved of the way Sircar commented on recovery of cash from the appartments of an associate of Chatterjee's associate and the arrest of Mondal.
The Enforcement Directorate and CBI had raided their premises and arrested the two and the law will take its own course.
"Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already taken strict action on the issue," Supriyo, who is the state tourism and IT minister, told reporters at the sideliens of an event.
"Jawhar Sircar is a senior person. He knows of the steps taken by TMC after the corruption issue (recovery of cash) recently came to light. I am of the view what he said is entirely his personal opinion. But he has to think whether he should air this in a public forum in such way," the minister said.
Continuing his criticism of Sircar, he said "If your (Sircar's) comments embarras the party, if you make loose comments then what is the difference between you, an erudite person, and Dilip Ghosh of BJP ?" he said.
The BJP national vice-president is known for making controversial comments and has been cautioned by the party from making any comment on the CBI.
Supriyo, a former union minister in the Narendra Modi council of ministers, said, "Every big party faces crises. I am not denying that our party is faced with a crisis now. But has not TMC already taken a stand on the matter? We can see attempts to topple democratically elected opposition governments in different states. There is also trial by media which goes on."
He said though Banerjee has taken strict stand on the developments in TMC and its senior leaders have spoken out, a wrong message about party has been conveyed to society by Sircar's comments.
"There can be different types of people in every party and it is not possible for any party to be absolutely 100 per cent stain free like the washed tulsi (holy) leaf.
"My question is why has there been no arrest of anyone from BJP. Many corrupt people are sitting under the BJP umbrella in different states but why is no action being taken against any of them? The leader of the opposition (in Bengal) Suvendu Adhikari (BJP) had been accused in the Narada scam but he has not been touched. I ask him to face the charges and come clean," Supriyo said.
Alleging that only Opposition parties leaders are being targetted by the CBI and ED, he said "This raises serious questions about the credibility of the central agencies. It appears that the governments in Maharashtra, Telangana, Delhi and Jharkhand are being targeted with the intention to harass the Opposition parties," he added.
Sircar had joined TMC last year after party supremo Mamata Banerjee named him as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha by-poll when a seat fell vacant after Dinesh Trivedi resigned.
Trivedi had switched over to BJP ahead of the Bengal Assembly polls.