Amid a split in the parliamentary unit of the Trinamool Congress's (TMC), two "dissident" party MPs on Tuesday attended an administrative meeting chaired by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari in Purba Medinipur district.
The development comes a day after the TMC descended into turmoil, with a rebellion that had already fractured its ranks in the West Bengal Assembly spreading to Parliament. Twenty Lok Sabha MPs, led by senior leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, claimed to have written to Speaker Om Birla expressing support for the BJP-led NDA as a "separate bloc".
Medinipur MP June Maliah and Ghatal MP Deepak Adhikari (Dev), both of whom are said to have joined the rebel TMC camp in the Lok Sabha, attended the meeting in Kolaghat along with Keshpur MLA Siuli Saha.
Saha, one of the 58 dissident MLAs backed by legislator Ritabrata Banerjee and chosen as deputy leader of the legislature party, said elected representatives had a duty to work for the welfare of the people.
"That is why I have come to attend the CM's meeting," she told reporters while entering the venue.
BJP MLA Ashok Dinda, who represents Purba Medinipur's Moyna constituency, said the presence of opposition representatives at such meetings reflected a "real change".
"Earlier, the TMC government had never invited opposition MPs and MLAs to administrative meetings, but our government has requested all concerned, irrespective of their political affiliation, to attend such meetings," he said.
Officials said the meeting was expected to focus on preparations for the monsoon season, including measures to tackle flooding, which frequently causes widespread damage in Purba Medinipur, Paschim Medinipur and Howrah districts.
Meanwhile, TMC leaders Kalyan Banerjee and Kirti Azad on Tuesday accused the rebel MPs of lacking political integrity, alleging that they maintained ties with the BJP and deserted party workers during a period when they were reportedly facing harassment and political attacks.
Lok Sabha MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, a leading figure in the rebel faction, said on Monday that 20 party MPs had decided to write to Speaker Om Birla expressing their support for the NDA.