A feud within the Trinamool Congress in the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC), the largest urban local body in north Bengal, which the party helms, reared its head on Wednesday.

At a meeting on Wednesday, the party’s legislative committee formally rebuked one of its own members, mayors-in-council (MMIC) Dilip Barman, for allegedly acting on Tuesday against mayor Gautam Deb and his deputy, Ranjan Sarkar.

At the meeting held in the civic body, all 36 Trinamool councillors — excluding Barman — unanimously resolved to report his conduct to the party’s state leadership.

On Tuesday, Barman, the ward 46 councillor, allegedly tried to prevent officials from the SMC’s building cell from dismantling an illegal structure in Champasari under his ward.

The structure was dismantled in the presence of police, after which Barman accused the mayor and deputy mayor of corruption.

Barman has been accused of repeatedly launching personal attacks on the top leadership of the Trinamool-run civic board since July 30, when he was asked to leave a board meeting for his remarks.

Sanjay Sharma, a Trinamool councillor, said Barman had been repeatedly targeting the mayor and deputy mayor without proof.

“If he has evidence, he should present it clearly,” Sharma said. “Instead, despite being a member of the treasury bench, he has been levelling allegations against them. We believe there is some hidden agenda behind his actions.”

Sharma added that the legislative committee meeting had resulted in unanimous condemnation of Barman’s behaviour, and that the matter would now be escalated to the state leadership.

Ranjan Shil Sharma, a senior Trinamool councillor, was equally critical of Barman.

“The civic board is executing several development projects with full transparency, but this person (Barman) is intentionally trying to malign the board. This is unacceptable,” he said.

On being contacted on Wednesday, Barman said: “I have only highlighted the irregularities of the civic board led by the mayor and deputy mayor. I am still in Trinamool and have not resigned from the civic board. I will only follow the instructions of the party’s state leadership.”

New MMIC

Abhaya Bose, the Trinamool councillor from ward 20, was sworn in as a new member, mayor-in-council (MMIC) on Wednesday. Mayor Gautam Deb administered the oath of office to her. She will oversee the departments of women and child welfare, midday meal, and the birth and death registrations, sources said.