Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday faced the wrath of Kunal Ghosh in the presence of Mamata Banerjee during a party meeting after the Trinamool Congress No 2 allegedly accused the Beleghata MLA of making adverse comments about him and his personal assistant, Sumit Roy.
The face-off occurred hours after police barged into Abhishek's Kalighat residence in search of Roy, who has been accused in an extortion case in West Midnapore.
Earlier in the day, Kunal had told reporters that he would not comment on Abhishek's PA, who, according to him, was a "top-tier man" and was among those who ruined the party.
A source in Trinamool said that during an executive committee meeting chaired by Mamata and attended by party leaders, MLAs and MPs, Abhishek suddenly confronted Kunal, accusing him of speaking against him and Roy before the media.
"Kunal Ghosh immediately shouted back at Abhishek and informed him that he had never commented against him but had certainly commented against Sumit Roy," a Trinamool leader said.
"I am the spokesperson for the party. I am not the spokesperson for Sumit. Who is he? Why are you (Abhishek) shouldering his sins? I have condemned the police barging into your home. However, I will never defend that fellow (Roy)," the leader quoted Kunal as saying during the argument.
Earlier in the day, Kunal had accused Roy of damaging the party and high-handedness in the functioning of Abhishek's Camac Street office.
According to Trinamool sources, Abhishek asked at the meeting that if he had become a subject of dislike within the party, why party members had not removed him.
"Kunal da immediately protested and questioned why he was taking the issue to such an extent. Kunal da also reminded him that Abhishek was the best person to judge whether he had become a subject of dislike," the leader added.
As the heated exchange continued, Mamata intervened and requested Abhishek and Kunal to calm down, reminding them of the crisis the party was facing. MP Kalyan Banerjee also intervened.
"She asked Kunal da about the subject of the argument and he once again explained his position," another Trinamool source said.
On Saturday evening, Trinamool veteran Saugata Roy announced another organisational reshuffle, barely days after the party's June 5 recast.
Jadavpur MP Saayoni Ghosh, who had joined the rebel camp in Delhi, was removed from the post of state youth president and replaced with Arnab Banerjee.
Sudip Bandyopadhyay, the Kolkata Uttar MP who met Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi and joined the rebel camp, was removed from the post of Trinamool's north Kolkata president. He was replaced by Kunal. Saugata and Jyotipriya Mallick were inducted into the party's executive committee.
On the other hand, former minister Manas Bhunia resigned from Trinamool.