TMC on verge of split as rebel faction claims majority support

Amid a TMC internal rift, West Bengal Minister Dilip Ghosh says the party will end soon. A rebel faction claims support of 58 MLAs and has been accepted as the 'principal opposition', a move contested by the TMC high command.

As Trinamool Congress internal rift moved the party towards a split, West Bengal Minister Dilip Ghosh on Friday asserted that the party will ultimately come to an end and the "sooner it ends, the better" it would be. Speaking with ANI about the rise of the rebel faction within the TMC, Ghosh said, "TMC's drama will last only a few days... Their party will come to an end, and the sooner it ends, the better".

TMC Rebel Faction Stakes Claim

His remarks come amid heightened political turbulence within the TMC following claims by a group of rebel MLAs, including expelled party leaders Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, who have said they have the backing of 58 legislators in the West Bengal Assembly, and rejected the party leadership's choice of Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay for the post of Leader of Opposition (LoP). Ritabrata Banerjee later claimed that the faction had been "accepted as the principal opposition" in the 18th West Bengal Legislative Assembly and that the Speaker had acknowledged "our claim".

"This two-thirds strong legislative team of the Trinamool Congress inside the 18th West Bengal Legislative Assembly does not believe in 'I', it believes in 'we'. Whatever norms are framed out, we have followed every norm, and that's why we have been accepted as the principal opposition in the 18th West Bengal Legislative Assembly," he said.

"We want Mamata Banerjee to be our chief advisor, to give us advice that will help us in strengthening our position as the opposition. Eighty members were elected by the Trinamool Congress symbol. More than two-thirds of them have given our claim, and the claim has been accepted," he added.

The TMC high command has challenged the legitimacy of the move, alleging irregularities in the signatures submitted to the Speaker.

Ghosh on Swarup Biswas's Arrest

Additionally, Dilip Ghosh also spoke about the arrest of Swarup Biswas, the brother of former West Bengal Minister Aroop Biswas, in an extortion case. Ghosh alleged that Swaroop Biswas is involved in numerous crimes and more cases will come up against him as the people have now started speaking.

"People like Swarup Biswas were involved in numerous crimes. Out of fear, people wouldn't speak up, but now people have started speaking. There will be hundreds of FIRs against them," he said. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)