The BJP MP said the TMC had “no place for honest, hard-working people”. (File)
Calcutta:
A day after Trinamool’s top Congress leader Suvendu Adhikari claimed his party colleagues were conspiring against him, Bharatiya State President Janata Yuva Morcha Saumitra Khan on Sunday invited the Minister of Transport to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The BJP MP also said that the TMC had “no room for honest, hard-working people”, and only the BJP could give it a platform to work freely.
The TMC leadership, however, criticized the BJP for trying to divide the party and said Mr. Adhikari was one of its “assets”.
The state’s transport minister, during his speech to Purulia on Saturday, said he rose through the ranks through hard work and did not parachute his way to success.
He also said those who had been inducted into the party by him were now his critics. “There is no place for hardworking and honest people in the TMC. Mass leaders like Suvendu Adhikari will be sidelined to pave the way for a particular MP. He is expected to resign from the TMC and join the BJP. He will have the freedom to work a democratic party like the BJP, ”Khan said.
Also in the past, BJP chairman Dilip Ghosh had repeatedly praised Mr. Adhikari for his “strong connection with the masses”.
Reacting to Mr Khan’s comment, TMC main leader and MP Saugato Roy alleged that the BJP was trying to cause defections in his party.
“Suvendu is an asset of the TMC. The BJP is well aware that it cannot do anything on its own, so it tries to provoke defections within the party. It is the only thing they are good at,” did he declare.
According to TMC sources, the MP for Nandigram, who had strayed from the party in recent months, is running programs without the TMC banner.
He has also skipped several state cabinet meetings in the recent past.
Banners with “Dadar Anugami“(Dada followers) written on it have been seen in various parts of the East Midnapore District over the past two months.
There was a lot of speculation that Adhikari could float his own outfit, ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections.
Mr. Adhikari, a popular leader of East Midnapore, holds more than 35 seats in the assembly, covering West Midnapore, Bankura, Purulia, Jhargram and parts of Birbhum, according to TMC sources.
A close aide to Mr Adhikari said he would organize a rally in Nandigram, the birthplace of the anti-land acquisition movement, on November 10 and could set his next course of action.
“Dada (Suvendu) will hold a meeting in Nandigram on November 10. We await his message. He did not get his due in the TMC, although he played a key role in bringing the party to power in 2011” , said the assistant. .
A senior TMC leader said reconciliation efforts were underway and the party had opened channels of communication with Mr. Adhikari and his followers.
“We will do our best to make sure he stays in the party. The rest is up to him,” said the TMC leader.
Mr. Suvendu is a member of the powerful Adhikari family of the East Midnapore district. His father Sisir Adhikari and younger brother Dibyendu Adhikari are TMC MPs from Tamluk and Kanthi Lok Sabha constituencies respectively. He had played a vital role in TMC’s Nandigram movement in 2007 which helped the party wrest power from the Left Front.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
