New Delhi:
From corruption to lack of access, Trinamool leaders claim a plethora of issues mounted over the years and built a resentment that now haunts the Mamata Banerjee-led party.
Satabdi Roy, a four-time MP who has been by Banerjee’s side since 2009, claimed that the former chief minister — popularly known as ‘Didi’ — had “changed” of late, a transition that did not go down well with her.
“Didi badal gayi thi,” she remarked during an interview with NDTV. “She changed a lot in the past few years. I have an emotional connection with her, but what matters to me is the work, and hence I have taken this decision,” she added.
Read: ‘Undermined Under Abhishek Banerjee’: Trinamool Minority Cell Leader Quits
Roy was chosen yesterday as the deputy leader of about a dozen Trinamool MPs who met with BJP leaders and offered to support the NDA, making it official that they wanted to part ways. Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who is now the rebels’ chief whip, claimed the number of rebel MPs went up to 20.
Sharing what made them revolt against their own party, Roy said a lack of access to the leadership was a major issue that impacted them. Only a handful of the leaders were in decision-making roles while others were undermined, she claimed.
“I am leaving the party because our voices were unheard. I want to work for the people. But no one heard us. Only selective people had access to Mamata Banerjee,” she stressed.
Sources in the rebel camp echoed her concerns and said even ministers in Banerjee’s government did not give time to the MPs and ignored their requests. They were not consulted before taking decisions, and when they tried to speak over the last few years, they were asked to sit quietly, they added.
Roy also pointed out that people often ask why they had been silent on these issues earlier and are raising it only when the party is at its weakest point. “It is because things are becoming clear now. We saw what happened when the Trinamool was in power. I understand the situation now, but I have to do it for the people of my constituency,” she said.
Read: Trinamool’s Kakoli Dastidar Says 20 MPs Will Support NDA: “Written To Speaker”
The popular Bengali actor-turned-politician also echoed corruption claims raised by several of her party colleagues over the past few days.
“There is a lot of corruption in the Trinamool. I was very disappointed to see the kind of corruption that was happening from a lower level to the higher level,” she added, claiming that she isn’t among the leaders with a stain who need a party’s support to cleanse their image. “My image is already clean.”
Sukhendu Shekhar Ray, who quit the party and as a Rajya Sabha MP yesterday, said the rebels were not given importance in the party. “We were faltu aadmi for them. Nobody listened to us,” he told NDTV.
