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As the internal crisis within the Trinamool Congress (TMC) reaches a boiling point, senior party leader and MP Saugata Roy on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the dissident faction planning to approach the Lok Sabha Speaker to stake a claim as the "real TMC.""We fought against the BJP and the NDA. Joining the NDA is immoral," Saugata Roy declared.
Speaking to ANI in Kolkata, Roy dismissed the significance of the rebels' move, asserting that their departure from the party was both expected and ideologically bankrupt. "What can I say? These people have left our party. If they meet the BJP in charge of Operation Lotus in West Bengal, it is not surprising," Roy said, referring to the alleged orchestration by the BJP to induce defections. The veteran parliamentarian maintained a firm stance on the party's core ideology, emphasising that the mandate received by the MPs in the 2024 general elections was based on their affiliation with the Trinamool Congress, not the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). He argued that the dissidents, who have claimed the support of 20 out of the party's 28 Lok Sabha MPs, are betraying the voters who elected them on a platform fundamentally opposed to the BJP's policies. Earlier, this comes after TMC's Kolkata North MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay met Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav at his residence in New Delhi on Saturday, along with rebel MP Satabdi Roy. Escalating his attack, Ghosh further said the ongoing developments reflect a deeper internal crisis within the party. Turning his ire toward the growing number of Lok Sabha MPs defecting to the rebel camp, Ghosh challenged the ethics of the dissidents and questioned why those who secured electoral victories under the TMC symbol were not resigning their seats. "Rajya Sabha rebel MPs are resigning. Why are the rebel MPs holding on to their posts in the Lok Sabha that they won under TMC's symbol? TMC workers, people who support TMC and are against BJP had voted for them...so, they are not just betraying TMC but the voters too," he added, describing their reluctance to step down as a "lack of political integrity." The remarks come amidst the ongoing political crisis within the Trinamool Congress, where 58 MLAs under the leadership of expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee in West Bengal, and 20 MPs led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar in the Lok Sabha have rebelled against the party. Three Rajya Sabha MPs, including Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Baraik, have also resigned from their upper house and party membership. Meanwhile, the rebel faction of the Trinamool Congress, who claim to be "real TMC", will meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday and demand a separate seating arrangement for themselves. (ANI)
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