TMC crisis deepens as third TMC MP quits; Shatrughan & Sougata rally behind Mamata

New Delhi, June 11: The crisis in the Trinamool Congress deepened on Thursday as Rajya Sabha MP Prakash Chik Baraik resigned from both the Upper House and the party, becoming the third TMC parliamentarian to quit this week, even as senior leaders including Shatrughan Sinha, Babul Supriyo and Sougata Roy publicly reaffirmed their support for party supremo Mamata Banerjee.
The day also saw fresh fault lines emerge within the party, with senior leader and Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee launching a sharp attack on TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and declaring he would remain in the party only if the latter was removed from all leadership positions.
On Thursday, Baraik became the third MP of the TMC to resign from both the Rajya Sabha and the party after Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Sushmita Dev.
Talking to reporters outside the residence of BJP leader Nishikant Dubey later, Baraik said, “People of West Bengal have given their mandate to the BJP. The TMC did not win. Looking at the mandate given by the people of West Bengal, I am resigning from the party.”
In an interview with PTI, he said, “Keeping the public opinion in mind, I resigned from the party.” “The Centre and the state need to be on the same page for development. We lost 34 years under the Left, and 15 years under the TMC when there was no collaboration between the state and the Centre,” he said.
Baraik said the poor are the ones who bear the brunt of such political differences. “The new government, in its first meeting, brought proposals for medical colleges and AIIMS. There were announcements for a bullet train from Siliguri to Delhi. We should prioritise development. We come from poor families, and I am the son of a tea-garden worker,” he said.
“I will work as per the directions of CM Suvendu Adhikari and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I want to work for the people where I come from,” he said.
Meanwhile, several MPs came out in support of Mamata Banerjee, with actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, whose name figured on a purported list of rebel MPs circulating online, asserting he would not abandon the TMC supremo in her difficult times. (PTI)