KOLKATA: In a curious gesture, a former Trinamool Congress leader did squats on stage moments after joining the BJP in Purbo Medinipur district on Thursday, describing the act as an attempt to "atone past sins" during his tenure with the ruling party.
Sushanta Pal, known to be a loyalist of TMC turncoat Suvendu Adhikari, suddenly started doing squats, stopping his speech midway after receiving the BJP flag during a rally at Pingla area.
"This is atonement for my sins when I was with the tyrant TMC, and had to follow whimsical and anti-people orders of the top leadership.
I regret it now," the former vice- president of Kharagpur Number 2 Block of the party said.
Alleging that the TMC did not allow free and fair panchayat polls in 2018, occupying the local bodies by force, Pal said, "I have joined the BJP as I was feeling claustrophobic. I wanted to protest but my voice was muzzled."
As Pal did squats on stage, BJP supporters present at the rally chanted 'Jai Shri Ram' slogans, while many looked on in bewilderment.
The district unit president of TMC, Ajit Maity said, "Pal had been stripped of all responsibilities four years back. He is now indulging in 'dramabaji' (theatrics) at the behest of the BJP."
Earlier, several local TMC leaders, who were loyal to Adhikari and occupied posts such as municipality chairman, switched over to the BJP.