KOLKATA: Former TMC MLA Dipak Ghosh and educationist Sunanda Sanyal has released a book alleging discrepancies in Mamata Banerjee’s age. Sanyal, who released the book, said that it contained “explosive information.”
“In Mamata Banerjee’s autobiography, she is claiming that she gave her school final examination at the age of 10.This means that she was underage when she stood for elections,” said Sanyal. Ghosh, who had been expelled by the TMC, also added that the book contained discrepancies regarding election funds. He says, “The chief minister claims that she has fulfilled 100 per cent of her promises. But where did the money come from?” The book also exposes misuse of election funds and private interests being encouraged in the name of politics. I have provided documents for all of it and have written to the Prime Minister to probe the content,” said Ghosh adding that there was dissent and discontentment brewing within the party.
In Didi’s autobiography, ‘My Unforgettable Memories’, Banerjee had stated that she was indeed five years younger than her official age. The exact excerpt in Banerjee’s own words was, “She (Mamata Banerjee’s mother) explained that I was not even fifteen when I wrote my school final examination and would have been disqualified for being underage. So, my father gave a fictitious age and birthday to get around the problem. The result: a new birthday and five years added to my real age.”
Banerjee’s official birthday is on January 5 but in the autobiography she confesses that it was actually on October 5. She had discovered this from an old horoscope that her mother had handed to her. The West Bengal chief minister, who was originally thought to be 57 years of age, is actually 52 years. Officially Banerjee’s birthday is on January 5, 1955.