Published 15:09 IST, December 19th 2020
Before joining BJP, Suvendu Adhikari pens unsparing letter against Mamata's TMC
Suvendu Adhikari pens letter ahead of joining BJP: "The very people on the back of whom the party was created are now sidelined, humiliated and outcast."
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Penning an open letter hours before Union Home Minister Amit Shah's rally, where he is expected to join the BJP, ex-TMC leader Suvendu Adhikari has said that Trinamool has betrayed our the party ideals. Slamming the Trinamool, he said that a "deep rot and malaise" has set in the party. Stating that the party was not built in a day or by a person, Adhikari said that "individuals in charge of the party currently are treating it as their personal fiefdom." He went on to state that people who built the party are sidelined and in an apparent dig at Prashant Kishor said that those who have no idea about the sacrifices of the party are being hired to assist the party.
Suvendu Adhikari said in the letter: "The very people on the back of whom the party was created are now sidelined, humiliated and outcast. In their stead, the individuals have now hired external assistance, people with no knowledge of the sacrifice it actually takes to work for shared goal as ambitious as creating the West Bengal of our dreams."
He added, "To those members of Trinamool who are feeling a little disappointed, I must say that I have not left the Trinamool. I am the same person who continues to believe in and fight for the same ideals that I have since 3 decades. It is Trinamool who has left its ideals behind in its relentless pursuit of power instead of service."
Suvendu quits TMC
On December 17, Suvendu Adhikari officially quit the Trinamool party on Thursday. Tendering his resignation to TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, Adhikari thanked her for the opportunities afforded to him. Earlier he resigned from the MLA post, and held a closed-door meeting with disgruntled leaders of the party including senior MP Sunil Mandal, Jitendra Tiwari, Nityananda Chattopadhyay. However, Bengal Speaker Biman Banerjee has not been accepted Adhikari's resignation stating 'improper norms'.
Reacting to Suvendu's exit, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said that 'people who won't get a ticket are going away'. Addressing a public rally, Banerjee lashed out at the saffron party saying that they were 'attacking the TMC', but added, 'TMC is as deep-rooted as a Banyan tree'. Adhikari has also written to WB Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, seeking his intervention so that the police and administration apparatus is dissuaded from implicating him and his followers in criminal cases.
What happened between Suvendu Adhikari & Trinamool?
Adhikari - the mastermind of 2007 Nandigram agitation - holds influence in about 35 assembly constituencies in West Midnapore, Bankura, Purulia, Jhargram and Birbhum districts. He had been creating rumours for the past few months by holding rallies not under Trinamool flag or its supremo - Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's posters, and had skipped cabinet meetings. While Suvendu himself is very influential, his father Sisir Adhikari and younger brother Dibyendu Adhikari are TMC MPs from Tamluk and Kanthi Lok Sabha constituencies respectively. After the breakdown of talks, Adhikari resigned from the cabinet post of Transport minister after quitting as Hooghly River Bridge Commission chairman, saying it was 'difficult to work in TMC'. West Bengal goes to polls in April-May 2021, where Mamata Banerjee eyes a third consecutive term.
15:09 IST, December 19th 2020