Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee, in an apparent jibe at disgruntled  rebel Trinamool Congress MLA Suvendu Adhikari, said that the TMC is a grassroots party and nobody has been able to parachute down on it or use a lift to rise within it.

Adhikari, who resigned as a minister in the Bengal cabinet on Friday, had earlier said that he has risen through the party ranks and has not landed from the top using a parachute or taken the lift to move upward.

Abhishek Banerjee, is the West Bengal chief minister’s nephew and a two-time parliamentarian. He said that the TMC-supremo Mamata Banerjee is like a “mother to her children”. He added that Mamata Banerjee is like the mother who has given her children the opportunity to work for the people and rise through its steps.

Mr. Banerjee while addressing a public rally in Satgachia in his constituency, asked the audience whether they would let go if anyone “betrays the trust of the mother” for personal gains. Adding that one cannot betray the trust of the mother, he asked, “If anyone sells off his spine to another party for his narrow personal interests, will you allow that?” “If anyone does so, his decimation is a foregone conclusion,” Mr Banerjee further added.

Suvendu Adhikari has been distancing himself from the TMC for quite some time by organizing separate rallies and gathering different support base, though he is still an MLA and holds the party membership. His supporters across various places in West Bengal like Birbhum, Kolkata, Hooghly, Siliguri, and Jhargram identify themselves under a common banner-‘Amra Dadar Anugami’.

Adhikari had been the backbone of the Nandigram anti-land acquisition movement that played a crucial role in Mamata Banerjee romping to power by defeating the Left Front. The heavyweight leader, who holds a considerable clout in several districts, had reportedly expressed his reservations on issues relating to the running of the TMC during meetings with veteran MP Saugata Roy whom the party top brass had deputed to hold parleys with him for reconciliation. Roy had also recently called Suvendu’s father Sisir to try to influence Suvendu to bring him back into TMC-fold.