Kolkata, Dec 11 (IANS): An internal feud within the Trinamool Congress over the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee's proposed theory for fixing the upper age limit for all political posts, is intensifying

A torrid debate between Trinamool Congress’s three-time Lok Sabha member Saugata Roy and the party’s state spokesman Kunal Ghosh regarding the matter has taken centre-stage.

Roy’s comments virtually challenging the upper-age limit theory that in Trinamool Congress only Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is the ultimate decision-maker on nominations has invited scathing retaliation from Ghosh.

“Such comments are unwarranted and breed the roots of division. There is no need to remind anyone that Mamata Banerjee is the final decision-making authority. Roy was not with Trinamool Congress since the party’s inception in 1998, as in the Lok Sabha elections in the same year he contested as a Congress candidate against Mamata Banerjee from Kolkata-South constituency. Now such comments from him appear to be like excessive blandishment,” Ghosh said.

Ghosh also drew a subtle reference to BSP chief Mayawati’s recent announcement naming her nephew Akash Ananda as her successor in the party.

“Although it is an internal matter of BSP, the BSP leader's initiative to bring ahead the new leadership really deserves accolades. I am hopeful that the new generation of leadership will work together with progressive, secular and democratic forces,” he said.

Political observers feel that such altercations among leaders within the party gives a subtle signal that such internal differences might take nastier shapes at the time of nomination of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls for 2024.

They also said that a further aggravation of this internal feud is inevitable unless Mamata Banerjee intervenes in ending the ongoing statement and counter-statements in the matter.