TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee Calls Mahua Moitra 'Most Anti-Women' amid Kolkata Rape Case Row

The internal conflict between two senior leaders of West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress is now public knowledge. These two leaders are Kalyan Banerjee and Mahua Moitra, who, after nearly three months of public dispute, have once again come face to face. Mahua Moitra attacked Kalyan Banerjee over the Kolkata Law College gang rape case, and in retaliation, he took a jibe at the woman leader’s personal life.

This time, MP Kalyan Banerjee, while mocking Mahua’s personal life, targeted her marriage and said that she broke the family of a man who had been married for 40 years. He was referring to Mahua’s marriage to Pinaki Mishra, a former MP from Odisha’s Biju Janata Dal. He said, “Mahua returned to India after her honeymoon and started fighting with me. She accuses me of being misogynistic—what is she then? She broke a 40-year-old marriage and married a man who is 65 years old. Did she not hurt another woman?”

'Mahua broke a 40-year-old marriage'

Kalyan Banerjee attacked Mahua Moitra saying, “Mahua says I am hostile to women — well, this is her tweet. My first question is: she returned to India after a one-and-a-half-month-long honeymoon and immediately started targeting me. I do not have hatred for women — in fact, I speak the most on women's issues — but Mahua herself is so hostile to women that she doesn’t allow any capable woman leader to rise in her constituency of Krishnanagar.”

He continued, “She (Mahua) calls me misogynistic, but she broke a 40-year-old marriage, left the wife behind, and married another man herself. Whose heart did she break for her own benefit? So who is the real misogynist here — me or her?”

'I do not hate women': Kalyan Banerjee

He didn’t stop there. He added, “She got that woman divorced. Now where will that woman go? When did she enter politics? She used to do politics in Krishnanagar using Rahul Gandhi’s name. Then in 2011, during TMC’s golden phase, she became an MLA, and later an MP. Now, she is damaging the very MP seat she holds.”

Attacking Mahua further, Kalyan Banerjee said, “A woman who broke another woman’s marriage and married a 65-year-old man — I do not consider such a person mentally stable. I don’t need to learn feminism or anti-woman sentiment from her.”
TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee said, “I do not have any hatred toward women, but in India, my only woman is Mahua Moitra.”

What had Mahua Moitra said?

Kalyan Banerjee’s statements came in response to Mahua Moitra targeting the Trinamool Congress for not condemning baseless statements by its leaders. Kalyan Banerjee had indirectly been criticized for his “avoid bad company” comment in the gang rape case involving a law student. Advising the victim herself, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee had said that women should be aware of whom they go out with. He said, “Those who roam around with such people should understand who they are going out with.” The party distanced itself from this remark and called it his personal opinion.

To this, Mahua Moitra posted on X, “Hatred towards women transcends party lines. What sets TMC apart is that we condemn such vile remarks.” Apart from Kalyan, MLA Madan Mitra also said that the law student could have avoided the unfortunate incident if she had not gone to college alone.