Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Saugata Roy on Tuesday slammed the party’s breakaway faction, branding the defected MPs a “team of traitors” and accusing them of acting at the behest of the BJP-led NDA.
Roy’s remarks came after the rebel faction claimed the support of two-thirds of the TMC’s Lok Sabha MPs and announced plans to merge with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a relatively unknown party registered with the Election Commission in 2023.
“There are two teams, the TMC team and the gaddar team,” Roy said in a statement.
The veteran MP asserted that the Trinamool Congress remained under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee, retained the party’s iconic twin-flower symbol and continued to be part of the opposition INDIA bloc. In contrast, he alleged, the rebel camp was aligned with the NDA.
“TMC team is led by Mamata Banerjee. Gaddar team is led by Narendra Modi,” Roy said.
“The symbol of TMC team is the much loved twin flowers (jora phool). Symbol of gaddar team is the nib of a pen,” he said.
Taking a swipe at the rebels over their proposed merger with the NCPI, Roy also highlighted the TMC’s electoral performance in West Bengal, claiming the party secured nearly 41 per cent of the vote in the recent Assembly elections despite alleged misuse of central agencies by the BJP.
“TMC team got almost 41% of the vote in Bengal, in spite of BJP stealing, looting and capturing all agencies in the recent elections. Gaddar team???” he said.
The comments come amid a deepening political crisis within the TMC after nearly 20 MPs from the party announced plans to merge with the NCPI and extend support to the NDA.
The defected MPs have approached Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking a separate seating arrangement in Parliament and have indicated they may stake claim to recognition as the “real TMC”.
Sources said Birla is expected to hear both the faction led by Mamata Banerjee and the breakaway group before deciding on granting official recognition to the rebel camp.
(With inputs from PTI)