Trinamool MP speaks out against party

Trinamool Congress MP Kabir Suman said "his party is not doing anything for the people", and that he felt "suffocated and helpless" as an elected representative.

"Be it the Communist Party of India-Marxist or other parties here, it's all about making the most for oneself when in power. All of them are the same. I cannot function independently as an MP. I have become a slave of the party. I feel suffocated," Suman, MP from Jadavpore in South 24 Parganas, told reporters in Kolkata on Sunday.

"I will be really happy if I am no longer an MP. I am not able to work for development," Suman said. Suman, also a singer and songwriter, seen with a guitar at Trinamool rallies addressed by party chief Mamata Banerjee, said that though his party was in power in many panchayats in South 24 Parganas district, it did not do anything for the people. "The CPI-M had control of the panchayats for long. They didn't do anything for the people. What about those who are in power now? What have we done?" Suman, who shot to fame in the 1990s with albums such as Tomake Chai, asked.

He said he had tried raising the issue with the party supremo, who was dismissive. "Whenever I tell her, she asks me when I will give her guitar lessons," he said.

He said the Centre released sufficient funds, but development work in South 24 Parganas, where his constituency is situated, was almost stalled because of the vested interests of some leaders.

Reacting to his comments, CPI-M leader Shyamal Chakraborty said, "Anyone who has some dignity, cannot stay with the Trinamool."

Congress leader, Nirbed Roy, said since Kabir was a sensitive person, he had spoken out.

The Trinamool Congress leadership, however, did not comment on Kabir's statements.