West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reportedly urged Trinamool Congress leader Jawhar Sircar to reconsider his decision to resign as Rajya Sabha MP. In a phone call to the disgruntled leader, the TMC chief also asked him to rethink his move to quit politics, according to a report by India Today.
Sircar on Sunday announced that he's quitting as TMC's Rajya Sabha MP and will leave politics over Mamata Banerjee-led government's handling of the rape and murder case of a trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital last month. The Trinamool Congress leader also cited corruption among a few party members as the reason for his decision to resign.
As per the report, Sircar will go to Delhi on September 11 and tender his resignation letter to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.
TMC's Response
Following Sircar's resignation on Sunday, his party colleague Kunal Ghosh said that the TMC agrees with the "spirit of his letter," which he dubbed as a personal decision.
"Jawahar Sarkar is a respected person. He is one of the best bureaucrats in the country. This is his personal decision, his personal letter, I cannot comment on it. He has full right to take any decision about himself," Ghosh said while speaking to news agency ANI.
"We just want to say that we also agree with the spirit of his letter, the questions. We are with the sentiment of society but whatever his stand is, it is his personal decision. We also demand justice. We stand with the society. We also demand justice," he added.
Jawhar Sircar's Resignation
Sircar offered his resignation expressing deep disappointment over the government's handling of the rape and murder of trainee doctor in Kolkata as he urged the CM to take decisive action to "save the state."
"While thanking you sincerely for giving me such a great opportunity to represent the problems of West Bengal as an MP in the Rajya Sabha, I must inform you that I have decided to resign from parliament and also from politics altogether," he said.
"I have suffered patiently for a month since the terrible incident at RG Kar Hospital, and was hoping for your direct intervention with the agitating junior doctors, in the old style of Mamata Banerjee," the MP added.
Sircar, who joined TMC in 2021, also highlighted his disillusionment with the State government's response to corruption, particularly regarding the former education minister's involvement in corruption. "I shall go to Delhi soon and offer my resignation to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and will also disassociate myself totally from politics. Please do something to save the state, and my regards and best wishes are with you," Sircar said.