New Delhi: In a fresh setback to Trinamool Congress chief Ms Mamata Banerjee, one of her trusted lieutenants, Lok Sabha Member of Parliament Mr Sudip Bandyopadhyay has shown signs of betrayal after he met BJP leader and Union Minister Bhupender Yadav along with another rebel MP Ms Satabdi Roy on Saturday. The meeting comes on a day when Ms Mamata Banerjee held talks with her nephew and party’s general secretary Mr Abhishek Banerjee in Kolkata.
Mr Yadav is the BJP’s incharge of West Bengal. In the last one week he has met several rebel MPs as a dissident group of TMC prepares its list of 20 MPs to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday to seek recognition as the “real TMC” parliamentary group.
The list that was for the first time made public on Friday had 19 names and Mr Bandyopadhyay’s meeting with Mr Yadav raised speculation that he will be 20th MP in that list. It is learnt that the rebel group has indicated to Mr Bandyopadhyay that he will be made their leader in the Lok Sabha.
TMC leaders still with Ms Mamata Banerjee have accused the BJP of carrying out “Operation Lotus” aimed at engineering defections in the party. TMC MP who is still with Mamata, Mr Saugata Roy said, “Sudip (Bandyopadhyay) talked to me three to four days ago and said I am not going anywhere right now. If I do something, I will do it after asking you. I saw that he took Shatabdi along with him and went to the in-charge of Bengal’s Operation Lotus, Bhupendra Yadav’s residence. What can I say? Staying in a party or leaving it depends on the morals of the people…”
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