Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee on Thursday said that he will not appear as a lawyer for party leader Abhishek Banerjee in cases before the court because of his “arrogant attitude”, ANI reported.

He told reporters that party chief Mamata Banerjee should choose between him and Abhishek Banerjee. Abhishek Banerjee is Mamata Banerjee’s nephew.

Kalyan Banerjee claimed that he was not consulted before a separate writ petition was filed in a case relating searches conducted by the West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department on Tuesday at the Kolkata home of Mamata Banerjee in a signature forgery case.

He added that another lawyer had taken over a case he had been handling.

“I will request didi [Mamata Banerjee]: if you will remain dependent on Abhishek Banerjee, then stick with him – leave me,” Kalyan Banerjee told reporters. “But if you part ways with Abhishek Banerjee, then I am with you. He has destroyed our party.”

Kalyan Banerjee said that he was senior to Abhishek Banerjee in politics and that he cannot be disrespected or humiliated.

“[Abhishek Banerjee] also needs to understand that the party is facing this crisis because of him,” Kalyan Banerjee was quoted as having added. “I cannot tolerate [it].”

Kalyan Banerjee, the Sreerampur MP since 2009, said that the “party will not survive” if Abhishek Banerjee remains in it, ANI reported.

The comments came amid the TMC facing internal divisions since it lost the West Bengal Assembly elections to the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Three of TMC’s Rajya Sabha MPs have resigned since Monday, and two of them quit the party.

In the Lok Sabha, at least 20 of the TMC’s 28 MPs, led by party leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, wrote to Speaker Om Birla on Monday, declaring their support for the ruling National Democratic Alliance.

At the state level, expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee has claimed that a group of 58 of TMC’s 80 legislators had been recognised as the party’s legislature wing in the Assembly.

The stand taken by the 58 MLAs is being viewed as a challenge to TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, who is supporting Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.

On June 3, the TMC dissolved all its committees and organisational units in the state, saying it would undertake a “comprehensive” review of its performance and party structure.

Edited by Sneha.

Also read: Why the Trinamool Congress is collapsing like a house of cards