Trinamool Congress leader Sabyasachi Dutta resigns as Bidhannagar Mayor

Trinamool Congress leader and Bidhannagar Mayor Sabyasachi Dutta on Thursday resigned from his post, ending the month-long drama with the party asking him to quit its fold. However, Dutta will continue to serve as a Trinamool MLA and has maintained his stance that he has no plan to switch to any other party in distant future.

The Trinamool Congress leadership has been annoyed with Dutta, an MLA from Rajarhat-Newtown, after he took part in an agitation against the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government in Salt Lake early this month. Dutta, however, dared the party leadership to act against him.

Briefing the media, following his resignation, Dutta said, "I will fight this battle legally. I had put obstruction against some people who were working for their personal interest. I cannot tolerate or accept something which is unfair and unjust. I had informed the CM earlier of the illegal works that were going on here".

West Bengal: TMC leader & Bidhannagar Mayor, Sabyasachi Dutta resigns from his post.

— ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2019

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In early July, Dutta had joined a protest programme of a Trinamool-backed labour union in the state-run power sector in Salt Lake and criticised the state government for not fulfilling the longstanding demands for increase in salaries in the sector.

This is not the first time that he had rubbed his party the wrong way. Ahead of Lok Sabha polls, BJP leader Mukul Roy met Dutta at his residence in Salt Lake, fuelling speculations of his switch-over to the saffron camp. Dutta, however, dubbed it as a courtesy meeting, which had "nothing to do with politics".

Following this, Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had then asked senior party leader Firhad Hakim and another state Minister Jyotipriyo Mullick to convene a meeting of councillors of the Bidhanagar Municipal Corporation to discuss the matter. 

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In the wake of this controversy, Dutta had also apologised for hosting Roy at his residence.