After the MLAs, now Trinamool Congress MPs are also preparing to part ways with Mamata. On Monday afternoon, 21 MPs held a meeting at the house of Union minister and BJP’s Bengal in-charge Bhupendra Yadav. Also present at the meeting was Sukhendu Shekhar Roy, who had resigned from his Rajya Sabha seat the same morning. Meanwhile, Suvendu Adhikari also came to meet him. It is not yet clear how many of the 21 MPs were from the Lok Sabha and how many from the Rajya Sabha. Those present included Kakoli Ghosh, Shatabdi Roy, Abu Tahir, Arup Chakraborty, Khalilur Rahman, Sharmila Sarkar, Asit Mal, Kalipada Soren, Jagdish Basunia and Prasun Banerjee; The names of the remaining MPs have not been disclosed. Currently TMC has 28 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 13 in the Rajya Sabha. Earlier, on June 3, 58 out of 80 MLAs of Bengal had formed a separate faction, in which Ritabrata was elected as their leader.
**Sukhendu’s claim: TMC members are angry with Mamata**
Senior TMC leader Sukhendu Shekhar resigned from his Rajya Sabha seat and left the party. In his resignation letter, he blamed Mamata’s 15-year “anarchical rule” for the party’s defeat and praised the BJP. Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan has accepted the resignation of Sukhendu Shekhar. Talking to the media after resigning, Sukhendu said that he resigned because Mamata was running the party arbitrarily. Sukhendu Shekhar was a Rajya Sabha MP from West Bengal and his tenure was extended till 2029; Now this seat has become vacant and by-election can be held for it.
“This administration has failed miserably in areas such as health, education, industry, law and order and employment, besides curbing corruption and atrocities against women.” For the first time in history, people have given an overwhelming mandate to the Bharatiya Janata Party. This mandate was to end the 15-year anarchical rule of the Trinamool Congress.” The party was not functioning as it should. Many leaders were not being allowed to function independently; often, their opinions were not even taken.
Such conditions persisted in the party for a long time and many leaders were forced to accept this situation. After losing the election, Mamata neither introspected nor tried to understand the reasons for the defeat. Sukhendu also praised the newly elected BJP government and said that it is taking steps for the development of the state as per its manifesto and has started reconstruction efforts.
Rebel MLA Ritabrata says that Sukhendu’s words are true to a large extent.
Reacting to Sukhendu Shekhar’s resignation, rebel Trinamool Congress leader Ritabrata Banerjee said it is not just Sukhendu’s personal matter. Although he had not spoken to Sukhendu directly, he had seen and heard his statements on television and he agreed with them. He remarked that Sukhendu’s points on the functioning of the Rajya Sabha were largely correct, and said that Parliament is not a place to play quizzes.
Lok Sabha MP Kakoli Ghosh also resigned from the party
Before Sukhendu, TMC MP from Barasat Kakoli Ghosh had resigned from all party posts on May 27, though she did not give up her MP post. In a letter to state president Subrata Bakshi, he said the decision was taken after mental struggle and deep consideration. His resignation came after he attended a meeting chaired by Suvendu Adhikari in Kalyani. After this, BJP leader Soumitra Khan claimed that if BJP wants, TMC can be completely broken within a few days.
28 year old rebellion in TMC; 58 MLAs seceded on June 3
For the first time in its 28-year history, there has been a formal split in the Trinamool Congress (TMC). On Wednesday, 58 rebel MLAs elected Ritabrata Banerjee – who was expelled from the party – as their leader. He submitted a letter of support to Assembly Speaker Rathendra Bose and demanded that Ritabrata be declared the leader of the opposition. The Chairman gave his approval.