Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata
Kolkata, Jun 14: Baidyanath Ghosh Dastidar, a psychiatrist and son of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, has served a legal notice on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and several senior party leaders, alleging that false and defamatory statements were made about him amid the ongoing internal turmoil within the party.
The notice was also sent to TMC leaders including Mahua Moitra, Kalyan Banerjee, Sougata Roy and Sonali Guha.
The development comes against the backdrop of an internal dispute within the TMC, with Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar reportedly emerging as a key figure among a group of dissenting party MPs.
On Sunday, Baidyanath publicly criticised Mahua Moitra for allegedly claiming that his mother had been lobbying for an Assembly election ticket for him.
Taking to social media, he described the allegation as "100 per cent lies" and said political disagreements should not involve private individuals or their family members.
The legal notice, titled "Cease and Desist Notice regarding False, Defamatory and Unwarranted References to Dr. Baidyanath Ghosh Dastidar", describes him as a psychiatrist with professional training and experience at institutions including Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University in Boston, as well as the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust in the United Kingdom.
According to the notice, repeated insinuations had been made suggesting that Baidyanath sought a TMC nomination from the Barasat Assembly constituency and that his mother's alleged rebellion within the party stemmed from the denial of such a ticket.
Baidyanath has denied ever seeking a political nomination and claimed that representatives associated with political consultancy firm IPAC had instead approached him and encouraged him to consider contesting elections.
The notice states that Sohom Pal, who was then associated with the Barasat district unit of the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), allegedly contacted him several times through WhatsApp and urged him to enter electoral politics.
Through the notice, Baidyanath has demanded that those named withdraw all allegedly false, defamatory and misleading statements made about him and issue a public clarification and apology within 15 days.
The notice warns that failure to comply could result in civil, criminal and other legal proceedings being initiated against the individuals concerned.
Neither Mamata Banerjee nor the other TMC leaders named in the notice had publicly responded to the allegations at the time of reporting.