Kolkata:
There is more domestic trouble in the uneasy Congress-Trinamool marriage in West Bengal, with a minister in Mamata Banerjee's government now accusing the Chief Minister of running a "dictatorship" and questionable performance and saying he wants to resign.
Manoj Chakraborty of the Congress says he has been "humiliated." Yesterday, Mr Chakraborty was stripped of two key portfolios, Parliamentary Affairs and Cottage and Small Scale Industries, and made minister of state for food processing.
Mr Chakraborty also said the people of Bengal were questioning the CM's performance. The minister says he has apprised senior leader Pranab Mukherjee about his decision and is waiting for the party leadership's nod before he submits his resignation.
The Trinamool reacted sharply with the new Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Arup Biswas, saying these were the 'rants of a mad man'.
The Congress is the junior partner in the West Bengal government and has six ministers. From the very beginning of the alliance in the state, Congressman have grumbled about the treatment they have been meted out at the hands of the Trinamool.
Earlier this month, the simmering tension between the two parties turned explosive with Ms Banerjee saying that her alliance partner, who she accused of working with the CPI-M against her, was free to leave. "If the Congress feels they can go with CPI-M, they can do it. Door is open. We can go alone," Ms Banerjee had said.
Manoj Chakraborty had then attacked the chief minister for her words and said scornfully that he could discard his ministership like a torn slipper and walk away if his party high command asked him to.
The outburst led the Congress high command to push the state unit to improve relations with the Trinamool. State Congress leaders, who in turn describe the Trinamool as the BJP's B-team, have been loath to make up.
What could complicate matters further is the Trinamool's decision to field candidates for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, for which Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi has been campaigning hard over the past few months.
Other incidents have added to the tension. The Youth Congress recently held a protest against the West Bengal government's decision to rename Indira Bhawan, a building named after the former Prime Minister in Kolkata's Salt Lake area. The Youth Congress also took on the state government over the issue of paddy prices for farmers. Ms Banerjee hit back, accusing her ally of going with the Marxists.