Mamata Banerjee reportedly instructed TMC officials to limit public comments

Firhad Hakim, the mayor of Kolkata and a cabinet minister, was instructed by Mamata Banerjee to keep his public remarks about Kolkata-related issues to a minimum. Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairman and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee brought up several top leaders and ministers at a recent meeting for making certain comments that she does not agree, the party’s office bearers stated on Wednesday. “Banerjee named some senior leaders at the closed-door meeting she held with legislators and Parliament members at her south Kolkata residence on March 17,” a TMC leader who was present said under the condition of anonymity. The meeting was to discuss strategy for the upcoming panchayat and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.Firhad Hakim, the mayor of Kolkata and a cabinet minister, is one of the leaders. She instructed him to speak in public only about matters pertaining to Kolkata and to ask her before discussing any other topics, according to the TMC leader. It’s unclear exactly Firhad Hakim quote led to Banerjee’s rebuke. A day before the meeting, Hakim told reporters that he had known former minister Partha Chatterjee for years and had never anticipated that he could sell government employment. Chatterjee was detained last year by ED.

When questioned on March 18 about a different suspect in the school recruitment case, Hakim declined to reply, according to a TMC leader, because of the chief minister’s reprimand.
A TMC lawmaker who wished to remain anonymous added that Minister Akhil Giri, who embarrassed the TMC by making a contentious remark about President Droupadi Murmu in November of last year, was also censured by Banerjee during the March 17 meeting.

While it was strictly mandated that all electronic devices be left with the security team, certain leaders were also warned for entering the meeting room with cell phones.

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