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On the political turmoil within the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan on Monday said the developments reflect deeper internal weaknesses in the party and raise questions over political accountability and ideology.
Speaking on the issue, Ranjan said, "Look, actually, it is their personal political struggle. But for quite some time, the internal reports and the election scenario were clear to outsiders--that things were not going in their favour. So naturally, I would say they should have looked within themselves as well." She added that with 20 Lok Sabha MPs and 3 Rajya Sabha MPs leaving the party, questions are being raised over moral responsibility, accountability, and whether leaders are committed to national interest or personal politics. "However, given the way things have unfolded now, with 20 members leaving from the Lok Sabha and 3 from the Rajya Sabha, there is a certain moral political responsibility regarding the ideology you represent. I feel that across the entire party scenario, a major question mark has been placed on moral responsibility, accountability, and whether you want to work for the country or just for your own politics," Ranjan told ANI. Her remarks come amid a sharp escalation in the crisis within the AITC, where a significant faction of MPs has broken away from the party. Rebel MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar on Sunday confirmed that 20 Lok Sabha MPs have merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) and will extend support to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). She said the group met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and submitted a letter seeking separate seating arrangements in Parliament, claiming they constitute more than two-thirds of the party's strength. "We, the twenty MPs elected from the AITC, met the Speaker and submitted a letter requesting to sit separately; these twenty MPs constitute more than two-thirds of our total strength. We are merging with the Nationalist Citizens Party. Moving forward, we will work for the nation and collaborate with the NDA under the leadership of the Prime Minister," Dastidar said. The developments come amid a widening political crisis in the TMC, 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. (ANI)
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