Kolkata: Trinamool has moved to replace Firhad Hakim as chief whip, signalling a sharper break with neta. The party emailed the assembly speaker late on Monday, nominating MLA Madan Mitra for the post. On Tuesday, TMC MLA Sovandeb Chattopadhyay went to the speaker’s office with a hard copy, but officials declined to accept it, calling the issue sub judice, though the party said the email had already been sent.The move follows disciplinary action by Trinamool, which issued show-cause notices to multiple MLAs for alleged “anti-party activities”. Those named include Hakim, Aroop Biswas, Arup Roy, Javed Khan, Rathin Ghosh, Biplab Mitra, Snehasis Chakraborty and Sabina Yasmin.TMC netas also escalated public attacks on Hakim. MP Saugata Roy accused him of betrayal, saying party chief Mamata Banerjee had promoted him from councillor to mayor and minister. Roy urged the rebels to “return to the original party” and suggested that if they refused, they should consider joining BJP, alleging pressure to switch sides. He also accused BJP of trying to engineer a “single-party system” through “Operation Lotus”.Inside the assembly, Beleghata MLA Kunal Ghosh questioned whether ongoing CBI and ED cases tied to alleged corruption would now proceed “properly” against the rebel camp. Hakim is among those named in the Narada sting case. He was arrested by central agencies in 2021 and secured Calcutta High Court bail 11 days later.During a rebel walkout in the assembly, Hakim appeared uneasy and hesitant, glancing at Trinamool loyalists who refused to join. After an apparent signal from Ghosh that they would not follow, Hakim left the House slowly.
