Disgruntled Trinamool lawmaker seeks new portfolio
Kolkata, March 5 : Disgruntled Trinamool Congress lawmaker and former West Bengal agricultural minister Rabindranath Bhattacharya Tuesday expressed his desire to rejoin the Mamata Banerjee ministry if offered a different portfolio.
Bhattacharya was shunted from agriculture to the statistics and programme implementation department in November last year. The veteran not only refused to take up his new assignment but also asked Banerjee to be relieved of his political responsibilities.
"My resignation has not been accepted so far and if she (Banerjee) offers me a different portfolio, I might consider taking it up," Bhattacharya said.
With the budget session of the state assembly slated to begin March 8, Bhattacharya, however, said he might attend only as a legislator.
"I have received several invitations to attend the assembly as a minister but only if my resignation is accepted and if I am offered a seat only as a legislator then I may consider attending," he said.
Subsequent to his removal from the agricultural ministry, Bhattacharya, Banerjee's trusted aide during the 2007 peasant movement in Singur, had levelled allegations against his own party cadres that they extorted money from the people and that the chief minister was well aware of the fact.