No differences with Banerjee's humane approach, says Trinamool MLA Manoranjan Byapari

Days after putting up a Facebook post that he is "feeling suffocated in politics", TMC MLA Manoranjan Byapari on Saturday said that the post was an "emotional outburst" and must not be politicised. He added that the emotional outburst was because he could not help every person who looked upon him as a saviour for being a representative.

The former writer who wrote acclaimed books like "Itibritte Chandal Jibon" (Interrogating my Chandal life) and "Batashe Baruder Gondho" (Smell of gunpowder in the air) turned first-time-MLA from Balagarh in Hooghly. In his FB post on Thursday, he wondered if it was a mistake to join politics for he could not solve everyone's problems, giving him sleepless nights.

"The FB post was triggered by my helplessness after getting SOS calls from two families seeking admission in hospitals. There are many such examples. People think we have a magic wand to solve all problems in their lives," Byapari said while adding that he would continue to be a legislator.

"I move around on an e-rickshaw in my constituency to reach out to people in need," he said.

"In my books, I depicted real-life situations involving poor people and was paid for my writings. I often thought the money I got for such literary works should reach the people whose plight I had projected in my writings. This was the conflict I had often faced," Byapari said. This also influenced his decision to join politics, he added.

Following the viral Facebook post, he then later put up a post on Friday saying, "Our Didi Mamata Banerjee has taken several humane steps to remove the misery of people and will continue to do so." He further noted that he had no conflict with the humane approach of Banerjee who "wants to help the needy but she could have done more had the Centre not been the stumbling block".

"Instead of releasing central funds, the BJP plots to prevent the TMC government in West Bengal from doing its work. I have visited River Ganga bank erosion-affected areas in my constituency and seen how people have been affected as no effort was made by the Centre to prevent erosion. I felt that I could not be of much help to the people rendered homeless by erosion despite being the MLA. But the state government is not responsible for it," Byapari slammed.

Byapari further added that he was not approached by any TMC leader for his Facebook posts. "My comments should not be politicised. I merely voiced my conflict when faced with a situation where I don't have the power to solve the problem of the person approaching me. I think such pain and anguish will be shared by any emotional person. My feelings will be appreciated by politicians who have a heart but not by those hardnosed ones who conspire to kill people to get votes and assume power in Delhi," he said.