The Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) internal conflict has now extended beyond politics to its assets, with former party treasurer Aroop Biswas urging the bank to immediately freeze the party’s accounts. Biswas expressed concern that signed cheques could be misused by unauthorised individuals.According to a letter circulating in the media, the former West Bengal Minister has also urged the bank to “maintain status quo” until the dispute is resolved or appropriate directions are issued by the competent authority. He claimed that rival groups were currently asserting themselves as the legitimate representatives and office-bearers of the party, creating uncertainty over who was authorised to operate the TMC’s bank accounts.In the letter dated June 12, Biswas had mentioned himself as the “treasure” of the party. Notably, the party recently during its national working committee meeting, chaired by the former CM Mamata Banerjee, had named Subhasish Chakraborty as the treasurer.The party is currently undergoing a serious existential crisis after the party witnessed a split both in Parliament and the West Bengal Assembly. The crisis has now reached the doors of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla with both the groups claiming to be the “real TMC”.Expressing concern over the current political turmoil within the organisation, Biswas said that a substantial number of elected representatives of the party, including 20 of 28 MPs and 58 of 60 MLAs, have either left the party or have openly revolted against the existing leadership. “In these circumstances, a serious dispute has arisen regarding the authority, control and management of the affairs and assets of the party,” he said.He alleged that any transactions carried out while the dispute remained unresolved could lead to further complications and expose both the organisation and him, as treasurer, to unnecessary liability.Seeking urgent intervention, Biswas requested the bank to suspend all transactions in the account until the dispute was formally settled. He maintained that the request was made solely to protect the party’s funds and prevent any unauthorised or contested operation of the account.HC refuses interim order on LoP appointmentThe Calcutta High Court on Thursday refused any interim order on the West Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose’s decision to appoint breakaway TMC group MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of Opposition.TMC MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay moved the court, challenging the rejection of his nomination for the post and Banerjee’s appointment.Refusing any interim order on the Speaker’s decision, Justice Krishna Rao directed that the matter would be heard again on July 28.The HC also directed the respondents to file affidavits within three weeks. The petitioner will then reply to the affidavits within two weeks.The breakaway group has claimed the support of 58 of the total 80 TMC MLAs. — PTI