NCPI Welcomes Merger With 20 Rebel MPs from TMC
Northern 24 Parganas: After rebel MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar announced that 20 MPs elected from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) intend to merge with the Nationalist Citizen Party of India (NCPI), NCPI founder and national organizing secretary Shantanu Dey said he was not aware of the developments earlier but welcomed the move and expressed openness to further discussions.
Speaking to ANI, Dey said that the decision to merge was taken by the party president. He added that he remains committed to the growth of the party and is keen to engage new members to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi and work with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Dey said, “I learned about this from social media and news. I welcome their meeting with me. If my party grows, why shouldn’t I be happy? I heard that the decision was made by the party chairman. He has not called me about it yet.”
“I want to take the party forward. If my party grows, we can work for the country. We support PM Modi and want to work with NDA for the nation. If Kakoli Di talks to us then we will definitely go (to Delhi). I hope we will talk. We will hold a press conference soon,” he added.
These remarks come at a time of increasing political turmoil within the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), with a major faction of the party declaring rebellion on Sunday.
Rebel MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar claimed that 20 Lok Sabha MPs have merged with NCPI and will now support the NDA.
After a meeting with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Dastidar said the group, which he claimed constituted more than two-thirds of the party’s strength in the Lok Sabha, had demanded separate seating in Parliament.
Speaking to ANI, Dastidar said the rebel MPs had submitted a letter demanding separate seating arrangements and outlined their future political plans.
“We, as 20 MPs elected from AITC, met with the Speaker of the Parliament and submitted a letter requesting separate sitting. These 20 MPs constitute more than two-thirds of our total strength. We are uniting with the Nationalist Citizen Party,” he said.
“Going forward, we will work for the nation and cooperate with the NDA under the leadership of the Prime Minister,” Dastidar added.
