Kolkata : In another setback to Trinamool Congress (TMC), Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev on Wednesday resigned from the party and as a member of the Upper House. This comes amid an internal rift within the party and a series of resignations after the Legislative Assembly election loss.
Sushmita Dev also met Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma in New Delhi on Wednesday morning. There is speculation that she may also join the BJP at a later stage. Dev was earlier with the Congress before switching to the TMC. Her father the late Santosh Mohan Dev was a Union Minister in the UPA-1 government.
"I do hereby resign from the membership of Rajya Sabha, which may please be accepted with immediate effect. I convey my sincere gratitude to your Excellency, Hon'ble Deputy Chairman and all functionaries of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat extending all help and cooperation during my tenure as a Member of the Rajya Sabha," she wrote in a letter.
Earlier on June 8, Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray resigned as a member of the Upper House of Parliament and from the primary membership of the TMC. In his resignation, Ray slammed the TMC over its massive defeat in the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections. He termed the verdict as an outcome of the "15-year anarchical rule" of the Mamata Banerjee-led party.
The series of resignations comes amidst the ongoing speculations of a split in the TMC with about 20 Lok Sabha MPs rebelling. Rebel TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar had confirmed to news agency that a faction of 20 MPs has formally requested the Lok Sabha Speaker for separate seating arrangements.
She said, "We are 20 MPs who have requested the Speaker for separate seating, and we will be working in conjunction of the Central and State Government for the development of West Bengal". Rebel MPs meeting Union Minister and BJP West Bengal election in-charge Bhupender Yadav and Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, has sparked speculation of the faction merging with the NDA.
As per the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, also known as the anti-defection law, the rebel MPs would require a merger with 2/3rd majority to avoid disqualification. Meanwhile, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee met with LoP Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi at 10, Janpath, Delhi. Yesterday, TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee met Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi amid the internal rift in the party.
A rebellion was also led by expelled party MLA Ritabrata Banerjee in the West Bengal assembly. Banerjee, who was expelled due to anti-party activities from the TMC, formed a separate faction in the West Bengal assembly with the support of 58 MLAs, and was later elected as Leader of Opposition, replacing Sobhandev Chattopadhyay.