Kalyan Banerjee Softens Stance On Abhishek Amid TMC Crisis, Says 'He Is Like My Son'

Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee on Saturday softened his stance towards party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, describing him as "like my son" days after publicly criticising him and blaming him for the party's ongoing crisis.

Speaking to ANI, the Serampore MP said, "He is like my son. It is the work of the father to forgive all faults made by a son."

The remarks mark a significant departure from Kalyan Banerjee's comments earlier this week, when he launched a scathing attack on Abhishek Banerjee amid growing unrest within the TMC following its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections.

In an interview with India Today, Kalyan Banerjee had accused Abhishek of arrogance and held him responsible for the party's decline.

"He's such an arrogant person. One must understand that because of him, because of Abhishek Banerjee, the party has been destroyed today. We have lost it. Everybody is saying this," he had said.

The senior MP had also issued a blunt ultimatum to party chief Mamata Banerjee, urging her to choose between him and her nephew.

"Choose us or Abhishek," he had said, warning that he would be forced to take "other decisions" if Mamata Banerjee sided with Abhishek.

Takes Swipe At Rebel MPs

While adopting a softer tone towards Abhishek Banerjee, Kalyan Banerjee remained critical of dissident TMC MPs who are reportedly planning to approach Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking recognition as a separate parliamentary bloc.

"Let them do what they want. They will have to live under the shelter of the BJP. All this is a ploy," he said.

Questioning their stated objective of securing development funds for their constituencies, he argued that many of the dissident MPs were unable to effectively represent their constituencies.

Kalyan Banerjee also alleged that the BJP government in West Bengal was targeting opposition leaders and claimed democratic space in the state was shrinking.

He further dismissed speculation about a possible merger between the TMC and the Congress, stating that no such proposal was under consideration.

CID Search At Abhishek's Residence

The remarks came hours after Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officials conducted searches at Abhishek Banerjee's Kalighat residence in Kolkata.

TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose alleged that police personnel reached the residence around 3 am and that a Disaster Management team was later called to break open locks before the search operation began.

In a social media post, Ghose claimed the search lasted around 90 minutes and yielded no evidence.

She described the operation as a politically motivated exercise and alleged that opposition leaders were being targeted under what she called "Operation Lotus".

The developments come amid escalating political tensions in West Bengal, where the TMC is battling internal dissent, parliamentary rebellion and fresh legal challenges involving party chief Mamata Banerjee.