Kolkata: The Ritabrata Banerjee-led faction of Trinamool Congress took over the Howrah zilla parishad on Saturday and promptly replaced pictures of ex-CM Mamata Banerjee with those of PM Narendra Modi and CM Suvendu Adhikari, rebel bloc neta Ritabrata Banerjee and chairperson of the faction Arup Roy.The take over was effected following a no-confidence motion in which 36 out of 42 zilla parishad members voted in favour of the rebel bloc. Gopa Ghosh was named the new sabhadipati and Tushar Kanti Ghosh took charge as sah-sabhadipati.The new leadership accused the outgoing zilla parishad of engaging in “multi-crore corruption scandals” at the behest of Trinamool MP Abhishek Banerjee and of depriving rural citizens of basic amenities.Speaking to TOI, Arup Roy, chairperson of the rebel faction of the party, said: “I welcome and support the new board. I am happy that this change has occurred in my assembly constituency. I hope the newly elected board coordinates with the state govt for public welfare.”BJP Howrah district secretary Om Prakash Singh offered conditional support to the new board. “We welcome the new board’s pledge to work for rural development by abandoning Mamata Banerjee’s corrupt policies. As long as this board functions with honesty, BJP will extend all necessary cooperation.”Office-bearers of the ousted board declined to comment on the matter.
