India, June 13 -- Just two days after publicly taking on Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and questioning his growing influence in the party, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee struck a conciliatory note on Saturday, referring to him as his "son" while closing ranks against the rebel faction threatening to split the ruling party in West Bengal.

"He is like my son. It is the work of the father to forgive all faults made by a son," Banerjee told news agency ANI.

His remarks come as the TMC battles a deepening internal crisis, with dissident MPs and MLAs claiming support for a breakaway faction in both Parliament and the state Assembly. Dismissing the rebels' efforts, the four-time Serampore MP alleged that the opposition was bei...