Amid speculation of a rift between TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and party leader Mukul Roy, Shilbhadra Dutta, a party MLA close to Roy, was today removed from the post of parliamentary secretary.
"Under the instructions of Mamata Banerjee, he has been removed from the post of parliamentary secretary. We also informed the Assembly Speaker about the decision," state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee told PTI.
Dutta, who is in Delhi, told TV channels over phone that officially he was not aware of the decision. He said "it is entirely the prerogative of the chief minister. I am in the party and I am following instructions of the party".
On his meeting with Roy, he said "I came to Delhi to consult doctor. I met Mukul Roy". The party leadership had last week accused Roy's son and party MLA Subhrangshu Roy of apparently breaching discipline by making certain remarks against the party.
The TMC leadership also did not rule out disciplinary action by the party against Subhrangshu.
