'Mahua, stick to your own constituency': Mamata Banerjee's stern warning to TMC MP

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee publicly rebuked her party MP Mahua Moitra as she addressed a gathering of booth-level workers in Kolkata on Thursday. Banerjee asked Moitra to exercise caution while interfering in the party's organisational affairs beyond her own constituency.

The West Bengal CM was discussing the party's position in Nadia district, which is Mahua Moitra's home turf and former parliamentary constituency. 

She was elected as TMC MLA from the Karimpur constituency in Nadia in 2016. However, in the 2019 elections, she was fielded from the Krishnagar Lok Sabha constituency, which she went on to win.

“Karimpur is no longer Mahua’s jurisdiction. It is under Abu Taher.… He will look after it. You look after your Lok Sabha seat and (stick to) that area,” Banerjee warned the MP. 

This is not the first time the TMC supremo publicly snubbed Moitra. In December last year, a viral video from the party's internal administrative meeting showed Banerjee scolding the MP as she sat silently nodding.

“Mahua, let me give you a clear message here. I do not believe in the politics of putting up a show on YouTube, paper, digital, etc,” Banerjee had told her.

Mahua Moitra stirs row over Kaali poster

Moitra, a high-profile MP of the Trinamool Congress, has been at odds with the party chief since her comments on the Goddess Kali created a stir in July. While commenting on the controversial poster of the film 'Kaali' which featured the Hindu goddess smoking, Moitra said she imagines Kaali as a “meat-eating, alcohol-accepting” goddess.

The Trinamool Congress, in a never-before-seen action, issued a statement distancing itself from the MP's comments, which left the party in an awkward position.