Mamata names nephew Abhishek TMC leader in Parliament; Kalyan Banerjee quits as chief whip

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee was on Monday named the party leader in Parliament replacing veteran Sudeep Bandopadhyay.

The announcement was made after a private virtual meeting which West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata took with party MPs today.

Abhishek, a three-term MP, is expected to take over from Mamata.

Bandopadhyay, a four-time MP from Kolkata North, had been the TMC leader in Parliament since 2011 after Mamata quit the post when she became Chief Minister.

In another development, Kalyan Banerjee quit as TMC chief whip in the Lok Sabha and Mamata announced that Kakoli Ghosh would handle daily coordination.

Serampore MP Kalyan later took to X saying he had resigned in protest of colleague Mahua Moitra "dehumanising' comments in a TV podcast where she called him a "pig."

"I have taken note of the recent personal remarks made by Ms. Mahua Moitra in a public podcast. Her choice of words, including the use of dehumanising language such as comparing a fellow MP to a "pig", is not only unfortunate but reflects a deep disregard for basic norms of civil discourse," he said.