TMC leaders criticise dissident MPs over party loyalty and political conduct

PTI, June 9, 2026, New Delhi : Trinamool Congress leaders Kalyan Banerjee and Kirti Azad on Tuesday launched a blistering attack on rebel party MPs, accusing them of lacking political morality, maintaining links with the BJP and abandoning party workers at a time when they were allegedly facing harassment and political attacks.

Banerjee also questioned why the dissident MPs were not formally merging with the BJP if they commanded the numbers they claimed, and asserted that the BJP will not take them.

Addressing a press conference here, he said the TMC had called the briefing after dissident MPs claimed support from a majority of the party's Lok Sabha members and announced plans to seek recognition as a separate faction.

Lok Sabha MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who is at the forefront of the rebel faction, said on Monday that they had decided to write to Speaker Om Birla declaring support for the NDA.

Dastidar claimed that 20 MPs of the party have decided to write to the Speaker.

Referring to former TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, who resigned from the Upper House after levelling allegations against the party, Banerjee said rebel MPs should follow the same course if they had grievances against the organisation.

"Sukhendu Sekhar Roy has resigned from the Rajya Sabha after making allegations against our party. Those who are making allegations against the party must follow the path of Sukhendu and show political morality by resigning as MPs," he said.

Banerjee also accused the rebel leaders of effectively aligning themselves with the BJP.

The two leaders noted that rebel MPs had met Union Minister Bhupender Yadav in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, proving they are with the BJP.

While TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and several senior MPs attended a meeting of INDIA bloc leaders, some dissident TMC MPs gathered at the residence of Union Minister and BJP's West Bengal election in-charge Yadav on Monday, where Adhikari was also present.

Slamming the rebels, Kalyan Banerjee said: "They may make some jugglery of words, but people are not fools. They have changed their leader from Mamata Banerjee to Narendra Modi".

Banerjee also alleged that Home Minister Amit Shah contacted TMC MP Yusuf Pathan.

"I talked to Yusuf Pathan yesterday. He was in Baroda. He said Amit Shah has called him and that he is coming to Delhi to meet him... Amit Shah is working to break the party, he is the person," he charged.