Congress' KC Venugopal slammed the BJP for trying to destroy opposition parties as reports emerge of 20 TMC MPs looking to join the NDA. The move follows TMC's defeat in the West Bengal assembly elections and signals a major internal crisis.

Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to weaken opposition parties through "undemocratic ways" as the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is battling with an internal crisis months after its defeat in the recently concluded assembly elections. "BJP has done the same thing in Maharashtra, and now in West Bengal also, they are doing the same thing. On one side, they are misusing the entire agencies and the Election Commission to gain power, and on the other side, when they're getting power in some states, they are trying to completely destroy the opposition party through undemocratic ways and not in a principled way at all. I don't think these things are going to survive. The time will come to question all of these things. We are very sure of that," Venugopal told ANI.

TMC Faces Major Rebellion

The remarks come after nearly 20 Trinamool Congress (TMC) Members of Parliament have formally signalled their desire to break away from their party's current political trajectory and align with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

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Rebel TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar on Monday confirmed the development to an ANI reporter with a 'Thumbs Up' emoji."A total of 20 TMC Members of Parliament have formally addressed a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, expressing their desire to extend support to the NDA, signalling a potential shift in the political landscape of West Bengal and national parliamentary dynamics," Dastidar said.

AAP Criticises BJP's 'Strangling Democracy' Tactic

( Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh also criticised the alleged move by the rebel TMC MPs and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of weakening opposition parties through political defections. "I reiterate that Narendra Modi has established a tradition of strangling democracy--intimidating, threatening, and breaking up parties; the same tactic is now being applied to the TMC. They have already poached seven MLAs in Bengal and are now targeting MPs. MPs and MLAs who contested and won on the TMC symbol ought to resign on moral grounds," Singh said.

He further asserted that elected representatives who won under the leadership of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee should step down before switching political allegiance. "If you have even a shred of morality, you should resign--after all, you won the election on the TMC symbol and under Mamata Banerjee's leadership. If you intend to leave, you must resign," he added.

Internal Turmoil Follows Election Defeat

The development comes amid intensifying internal turmoil following the party's defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections, which saw the state elect its first BJP government under Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. (ANI)

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