New Delhi/Kolkata14 June. Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who is ready to leave Mamata Banerjee after losing power for one and a half decade in West Bengal, has claimed that she has the support of 22 out of 28 MPs and she will meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday. She also said that she would appeal to the Speaker to recognize her as a separate parliamentary group.
Earlier, people close to Mamata Banerjee had claimed that Kakoli Ghosh was claiming the wrong number. But Kakoli has made it clear on Sunday that he has sufficient numbers. Ghosh said, ‘We are going to Delhi for a meeting. There are 22 MPs with us. The speaker has given us time. We will meet them on Monday and demand recognition as a separate group.
However, Kakoli Ghosh did not reveal the names of those two additional MPs and only said that their names would be revealed after they formally join the faction. He said, ‘Those who have been expressing their honest opinion against the situation in West Bengal for the last four-five years are in touch with us. Now our number has increased to 22.
Rebel group’s meeting will be held in Delhi instead of Kolkata
Meanwhile, sources in the rebel group said that the meeting which was earlier to be held in Kolkata, will now be held in Delhi. West Bengal Chief Minister Subhendu Adhikari was also expected to attend the meeting, but he is unlikely to visit the national capital due to official work at the Digha-Shankarpur Development Authority, the source said.
In fact, the rift among Lok Sabha MPs in TMC became clear earlier this week when rebel MPs publicly took a different stand from Mamata Banerjee’s leadership. Last Monday, Dastidar had claimed that he has the support of about 20 TMC MPs and the group wants to support the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance at the Centre.
on friday A document bearing the signatures of 19 MPs was revealed
Amidst all the speculation, a document bearing the signatures of 19 TMC MPs came to light last Friday. The signatories included Ghosh Dastidar, Shatabdi Roy, Bapi Halder, Sharmila Sarkar, Prasun Banerjee, Jagdish Chandra Burma Basunia, Asit Mal, Arup Chakraborty, Kalipada Soren, Deepak Adhikari (Dev), June Malia, Parth Bhowmik, Khaliqur Rahman, Abu Tahir Khan, Yusuf Pathan, Mithali Bagh and Mala Roy. There were also separate signatures of Rachana Banerjee and Sayoni Ghosh on the document.
The MPs have written a letter to the Speaker demanding recognition as a separate faction under the leadership of Ghosh Dastidar, however, there has been no official confirmation from the Speaker’s Secretariat whether the letter has been received or not.
TMC MPs Sayoni Ghosh and Mala Roy reached Delhi
Meanwhile, MPs Sayoni Ghosh and Mala Roy reached Delhi on Sunday. Both Sayoni and Mala refused to talk to the media at Delhi airport. Ghosh only told reporters, ‘I will answer to the people of my constituency, not to you.’
A day before this development, senior Trinamool leader and MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay, considered one of Mamata Banerjee’s closest aides, had joined the rebel camp after meeting Union Ministers Amit Shah and Bhupendra Yadav in Delhi.
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