Ready to resign from membership of Lok Sabha, would like to see Mamata as PM candidate: Babul Supriyo
KOLKATA: A day after his staggering move defecting to the TMC from the BJP, former Union minister and Asansol MP Babul Supriyo said on Sunday that he is all set to resign from membership of Lok Sabha and if the Speaker gives him time, he will tender his resignation on Wednesday.
The former flamboyant face of the saffron camp, the latest turncoat in the Trinamool Congress camp, said he would request the party not to put him in an embarrassing situation by engaging him in the Bhowanipore by-election campaign against BJP’s candidate Priyanka Tibrewal who is contesting against chief minister Mamata Banerjee. His request came after Priyanka on Sunday said she would request Supriyo not to campaign against his 'sister'.
"Priyanka is a woman with a spirit to fight. I have a family relation with her. I will request the party not to embarrass me by asking me to campaign against her in Bhowanipore. Besides, my presence in poll campaign is not at all required in a constituency where Mamata Banerjee is contesting,’’ said Supriyo.
Babul thanked Mamata and the TMC for giving him a chance in the "playing 11".
"I always want to be part of playing 11, instead of sitting on the reserve bench. I thank Mamatadidi and Abhishek Banerjee (TMC’s national general secretary) for giving me a chance," he added.
The singer-turned-politician never missed an opportunity to launch a blistering attack on Mamata and Abhishek on several issues during the campaign in the recent Assembly elections. Twenty-four hours after shifting his political allegiance, he made it clear that Mamata is the face of the opposition against the BJP nationwide and he would like to see her as the Prime Ministerial candidate in the 2024 general elections.
"I will like to see a popular face as the Prime Ministerial candidate in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and Mamata Banerjee is one of them,’’ he said.
A war of words between the two-term MP from Asansol and BJP functionaries broke out within 24 hours of Supriyo’s defection.
Referring to BJP’s state president Dilip Ghosh’s comment labeling Supriyo as a political tourist who join politics to earn money, the former Union minister hit back saying, "I will present him (Ghosh) a barnaporichoy book (a Bengali primer) so that he can bring some decency in his statement."
Supriyo also raised his objection on BJP leader Tathagata Roy’s remark describing him as a traitor.