Dilip Ghosh, the erstwhile national vice president of the Bharatiya Janata Party and former president of its West Bengal state unit, has admitted to increasing distance from the party's state leadership.
This comes after he faced flak for visiting the inauguration of the Lord Jagannath Temple in Digha, East Midnapore—an event not approved by the BJP.
Addressing journalists on Saturday, Ghosh candidly admitted to keeping away from the party's official activities over the past few years.
"Have I been present at any official programme of the party for the last three years? I don't have any official programme. I fix my own programme. I go to social and religious events. I go to various non-political programmes. I meet the media every day," Ghosh stated.
Ghosh faced criticism from BJP quarters for attending the temple function on April 30 with his recently married wife, Rinku Ghosh. The controversy grew further after footage of him having a cordial interaction with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the same programme was made public. The pictures and videos soon went viral on social media, with his colleagues expressing discontent.
His presence at the function, and especially his amiable behavior towards Banerjee, provoked scathing criticisms from BJP legislators, including MPs and MLAs, who branded him as being too appeasing towards the Trinamool Congress leader.
State BJP president and Union Minister of State Sukanta Majumdar dissociated the party from Ghosh's actions and asserted that his move to go to the ceremony was a purely personal decision and not that of the party.
Ghosh, however, was unperturbed by the criticism. "Those who have suddenly turned sympathetic to BJP will say anything. They have every right to say. I do not want to respond to what they say as I do not require anyone's sympathy. Those who have come into BJP from another party are now making tall claims," he stated.
Though Ghosh did not directly mention anyone, his comments seemed to target Suvendu Adhikari—the present Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly. Adhikari was a one-time personal assistant of Mamata Banerjee and a two-time Trinamool Congress member of Parliament, and he had switched to the BJP before the 2021 state polls.
Reacting to Ghosh's remarks, Adhikari remained tight-lipped. "For the last three days I have not made any comment about him, I will not comment today either. I will comment in the future also," he asserted.
