Kolkata: Fifty-one former Trinamool councillors met at a hotel in east Kolkata on Saturday to chalk out their future strategy amid mounting pressure on former mayor Firhad Hakim following the Taratala building collapse.Hakim skipped the meeting, which was chaired by MLAs Jawed Khan and Sandipan Saha.Addressing the gathering, Saha said, “We are the real Trinamool. We are here. We will remain. You keep your faith in us.”Later, speaking to reporters, Saha said the meeting was aimed at strengthening the organisation.“We are the main opposition party, most MLAs are with us, and former councillors are with us. Those who have been leading are with us. This makes it clear who will lead the TMC in the future,” he said.Former Trinamool councillor Debalina Biswas, who attended the meeting, said it had been convened by a new All India Trinamool Congress board formed on June 22.“I was invited since the meeting was about former councillors. The discussion focused on the issues faced by ex-councillors in their respective areas,” she said.The meeting came against the backdrop of the Taratala collapse, which has put the Trinamool-run Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Hakim under scrutiny over the approval of the building plan.State municipal affairs and urban development minister Agnimitra Paul said action had already been initiated in the case.“Several people have been arrested, including the architect, engineer and the OSD of the former minister, Kalicharan. We had demanded the arrest of former minister and mayor Firhad Hakim. Today, an FIR has also been registered because their signatures are everywhere. It cannot be that Hakim knew nothing about this. They should be punished,” she said.Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh, meanwhile, questioned why Hakim had not been arrested.“We fully support the CM’s strong statement in the assembly regarding the Taratala issue. During his statement, he displayed a document bearing the former mayor’s signature and said no one would be spared. If the CM himself is pointing to that document, why has that individual not been arrested?” Ghosh said.
