Santanu Sen Resigns as Trinamool Congress National Spokesperson

PTI, KOLKATA, MAY 28, 2026 : Former Rajya Sabha MP and Trinamool Congress leader Santanu Sen on Thursday resigned as the party's national spokesperson and criticised the outfit over the controversy surrounding the R G Kar rape and murder case, describing the poll defeat as a public rejection of "unethical practices".

Sen, a doctor-turned-politician and councillor of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, submitted his resignation to Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee, saying he could no longer continue defending issues that had alienated ordinary people.

"Accepting the people's verdict, I have decided to resign from the post of national spokesperson," Sen wrote in his letter.

He, however, has not quit the party.

"Now, when people have rejected us over the RG Kar incident, job scam and various unethical acts and corruption, my conscience no longer permits me to support these as a spokesperson," he said.

Sen, himself a former student and doctor associated with RG Kar, had emerged as one of the few Trinamool leaders to publicly raise questions over alleged irregularities at the institution following the incident.

His remarks had embarrassed the party leadership at the time. He was suspended for "anti-party activities" and removed from the post of spokesperson before being reinstated months later.

Soon after the change of guard in Bengal, Sen congratulated the new BJP government and Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on social media, which caused considerable discomfort within Trinamool circles.

On Wednesday, Sen escalated matters by publicly offering cooperation to the new government in any probe related to the RG Kar rape-murder case.

"I remained silent for a long time because of concerns about my daughter's career. Now she has become a doctor herself, and I have no more hesitation," he had said, while also levelling allegations against former RG Kar principal Sandip Ghosh and others linked to the institution.

He had also spoken about the alleged influence of a "North Bengal lobby" within the state's health administration; remarks seen in political circles as an indirect attack on entrenched networks within the former ruling establishment.

Reacting to Sen's resignation, Trinamool leader Biswajit Deb blamed the party's top leadership and election strategists for the collapse.

"This party will break into pieces very soon. So much institutional corruption took place — can anyone believe that Mamata Banerjee or Abhishek Banerjee knew nothing?" Deb said.

He also targeted political consultancy firm I-PAC, alleging that resentment had been brewing within the organisation over excessive dependence on the strategists.

"Everything had to be routed through I-PAC. Grassroots workers felt ignored and humiliated. The disconnect between the leadership and workers kept growing," he claimed.