Hours after senior Trinamool Congress leader Dinesh Trivedi quit his party and Rajya Sabha membership alleging oppressive atmosphere in the organization, TMC leaders launched a scathing attack on him for acting like a “typical Gujarati middle man” betraying Mamata Banerjee “because the BJP might be giving him more…”
The attack came amid reports that Trivedi was joining the BJP and might get a nomination in the Upper House from Gujarat.
Trivedi, a trusted lieutenant of the Chief Minister, on Friday quit his party and resigned his Upper House membership saying he could no longer withstand the muzzling atmosphere (in the TMC) that not only choked his voice but also did not allow him to work.
While former Bengal Minister Rajib Banerjee who last week joined the BJP quitting the TMC said more of his former colleagues would desert the Trinamool Congress State Parliamentary Affairs
Minister Tapas Roy said “his (Dinesh) status has never been better than that of a political go-between … a Gujarati bania (businessman) as he is he has acted like one,” adding “his presence in the party had neither benefited us nor his absence will hurt the TMC.”Trivedi has left the party not responding to the call of his “Antar Atma (soul) but Pret Atma (ghost) and he will be rejected by the people in this State,” Roy who was most vociferous agaisnt the former Railway Minister said.
Trinamool MP Kakoli Ghoshdastidar said that Trivedi left the party after a deal with the BJP. “He must have been promised more by the BJP and so he has left the Trinamool,” Dastidar said while her Lok Sabha colleague Kalyan Banerjee called him a “Gaddar” (traitor) like those other leaders who left the TMC in the past few months. The Bengal ruling outfit has of late been plagued by desertions with senior leaders quitting the party one after the other.
The State BJP promptly reacted to Trivedi’s resignation saying the senior leader was an asset in any party and will accept him if he wanted to join the saffron outfit.
While Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said Trivedi was always welcome in his party. “He has been an honest person, a good man trapped in a bad party. He will be always welcome in the party if he decides to do so.” Party’s observer for Bengal Kailash Vijayvargiya too sounded enthusiastic about his joining the saffron outfit saying “I hope he comes and joins us for the bigger cause that we are working for.”