Trinamool Congress (TMC) state minority cell secretary Ajmal Siddiqui announced his resignation from the party on Saturday, as the internal crisis continues to haunt Mamata Banerjee’s party.
Siddiqui said his decision was due to the party’s internal performance and the influence of its leadership. He also accused TMC Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee of having a “dictatorial attitude”.
Ajmal Siddiqui resigns from TMC
He said the party brings “bad reputation” and accused many of its leaders of engaging in “unsavory activities.”
“I returned from Hajj just two days ago. Upon my return, I decided that this party brings nothing but bad reputation; the majority of its members are involved in unsavory activities – scandals keep coming, and more are likely to come to light. Staying in this party was very uncomfortable for us, and it was not doing any real work for the people,” he told news agency ANI.
Siddiqui blamed Abhishek Banerjee for the party’s “collapse”. “The party is collapsing today only because of one man: Abhishek Banerjee. His dictatorial attitude and the oppression we faced – the false cases against us 12 or 13 years ago, the demands for money – were unbearable.”
Asked about his future political plans and whether he would consider joining the BJP, Siddiqui said his priority is the development of West Bengal.
“We have not thought about it yet. Our only desire is to see development in Bengal – setting up industries and providing employment to the poor,” he said.
The transitional military council crisis worsens
A month after it lost power in West Bengal and a few days after 58 rebel armies took control of the legislative party, the TMC is facing one of the biggest challenges in its history.
Since the BJP was voted out of office after ruling the state for 15 consecutive years, the party has suffered a series of setbacks.
One of the biggest blows came on Wednesday when Bangladesh Speaker Rathendra Nath Bose recognized 58 rebel TMC legislators, led by MLA Raitabrata Banerjee, as the main opposition group.
While rebel lawmakers continue to accept Mamata Banerjee as their leader, they have publicly rejected the authority of her nephew and political successor Abhishek Banerjee.
The crisis became more evident on Friday when only eight non-rebel MLAs attended a meeting called by the party leadership at Mamata Banerjee’s residence.
With input from agencies
