Amid a widening rebellion within the Trinamool Congress, party leader and Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra insisted that the mood in the party remains upbeat, describing the ongoing exodus as a “cleansing” process. She said party supremo Mamata Banerjee values loyalty and that those who are fundamentally opposed to the BJP would never abandon her or the TMC.
“In some ways, we’re actually happy because the shuddhi karan, the cleansing, is happening. Mamata Di, for all her instincts, for all her leadership, is a deeply emotional person with a great deal of affection and long-lasting loyalties,” Moitra said in an exclusive interview with HT.
Mahua also said the episode had served as a lesson for the party, suggesting that Banerjee should have severed ties with some leaders much earlier. “Yes, that’s the lesson. She goes out of her way to do all of these things because she’s come from the grassroots and she has this connect. Mamata Banerjee has built this party. She hasn’t inherited it. So you have to take the good, the bad, and the ugly along with her,” she said.
Read Mahua Moitra’s exclusive interview to HT here
Her remarks come at a time when the Trinamool Congress is grappling with a major internal crisis. At least 58 of its MLAs have reportedly turned rebellious and staked a claim to become the principal Opposition bloc in West Bengal. Adding to the party’s troubles, MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar claimed that nearly 20 TMC MPs have decided to support the BJP-led NDA in the Lok Sabha.
In yet another setback for the party, Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev resigned from the TMC on Wednesday and later met Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Dev said she wanted to pursue politics in Assam and was inspired by the state’s current chief minister.
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Before Dev’s exit, former Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy had resigned from the Upper House and announced his exit from TMC on June 8. Mahua described Roy as a ‘political opportunist’, saying he was accommodated in the Rajya Sabha at the request of the late Pranab Mukherjee after the Congress allegedly denied him a seat.
However, Mahua refrained from using the same term for her ‘friend’ Dev. Asked whether Dev’s move could also be seen as political opportunism, Mahua said only she could answer that question.
“You’ll have to ask her that question. Sushmita Dev is a friend of mine. I’m not going to say anything about her reasons. You’ll have to ask her yourself,” Mahua told HT.
