NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress MP Kirti Azad on Friday accused the BJP of attempting to engineer defections within the Mamata Banerjee-led party through “Operation Lotus”, claiming that efforts to split the TMC had so far failed.
In a post on X, Azad pointed to the resignation of Rajya Sabha MP Prakash Chik Baraik and his appearance outside BJP leader Nishikant Dubey’s Delhi residence, meetings between dissident TMC MPs and Union minister Bhupender Yadav, and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari’s visit to TMC MP Satabdi Roy’s residence as signs of “an organised attempt” to weaken the party.
“Operation Lotus, under the guidance of Amit Shah, is underway,” Azad alleged, adding that the exercise had not succeeded.
Amid the growing unrest, a purported list containing the names and signatures of 19 TMC Lok Sabha MPs circulated online, although the alleged letter addressed to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla was not publicly available.
Dissident leaders claimed the document reflected support for their campaign.
The list reportedly included Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Satabdi Roy, Bapi Haldar, Sharmila Sarkar, Prasun Bandyopadhyay, Jagadish Barma Basunia, Asit Kumar Mal, Arup Chakraborty, Rachna Banerjee, Saayoni Ghosh, Khalilur Rahaman, Abu Taher Khan, Yusuf Pathan, Mitali Bag, Mala Roy, Kalipada Soren, Deepak Adhikari, June Malia and Partha Bhowmick.
The TMC has been facing internal turmoil following its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections, with a section of party legislators rebelling against the leadership.
The unrest later spread to Parliament, where dissident MPs claimed to have the backing of more than 20 Lok Sabha members.
On Thursday, Rajya Sabha MP Prakash Chik Baraik became the third TMC parliamentarian this week to resign from both the party and the Upper House, following Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Sushmita Dev.
The crisis also exposed deepening divisions within the party.
Senior TMC leader Kalyan Banerjee launched a sharp attack on party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Thursday, declaring that he would remain in the party only if Abhishek was removed from all leadership roles.
Attempting to play down the remarks, Azad insisted that Kalyan Banerjee remained loyal to Mamata Banerjee.
“Everything is fine, there is no problem. Kalyan Banerjee is emotional,” Azad told PTI Videos.
“He has stood by Didi through difficult times. He can never betray her or stab her in the back,” he added.
Despite the rebellion gathering pace, several senior leaders publicly reaffirmed their support for Mamata Banerjee.
Lok Sabha MPs including Sougata Roy, Shatrughan Sinha and Pratima Mondal, along with Rajya Sabha MP Babul Supriyo, denied being part of any dissident faction and maintained that they would stay with the party.
Azad also alleged that pressure was being exerted on TMC leaders through the withdrawal of security personnel, but insisted that such tactics would not intimidate him.
“Do you think we are the sort of people who get frightened? If we have entered politics to struggle, then we will continue that struggle,” he said.
“I am also an international cricketer and have my own identity and reputation. Kirti is not someone who is easily scared,” he added.
(With inputs from PTI)