Daijiworld Media Network – Kolkata

Kolkata, Jun 9: The All India Trinamool Congress has strongly denied reports suggesting that around 20 of its Members of Parliament are preparing to support the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), dismissing the claims as false and politically motivated.

The party's response comes amid speculation that a group of TMC MPs had allegedly written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and were considering forming a separate bloc or political faction.

TMC leaders described a viral list circulating on social media as fabricated and accused political opponents of spreading misinformation to create confusion within the party.

Senior TMC leader Kirti Azad rejected the reports and alleged that the list had been circulated by the BJP. In a post on social media, he said several leaders whose names appeared on the list had already denied signing any document related to the alleged move.

Calling the list "fake and fabricated", Azad claimed that "Operation Lotus" had failed and accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of being unsuccessful in efforts to engineer defections.

TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee also questioned the credibility of reports claiming that a letter had been submitted to the Speaker. He said no such letter had been made public even after 24 hours and alleged that the Speaker's office had not received any such communication.

Banerjee further raised questions about reported meetings between some TMC leaders and senior BJP leader Bhupender Yadav, asking who had facilitated the interactions and under what circumstances they had taken place.

He alleged that those attempting to leave the party no longer regarded TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee as their leader and had instead chosen to align themselves with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Referring to anti-defection provisions under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, Banerjee argued that any group seeking to split from the party would face legal challenges and might ultimately have to formally join the BJP to avoid disqualification.

He also criticised some of the MPs named in the reports, including Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, saying they had praised Mamata Banerjee extensively during election campaigns but were now claiming they were unable to carry out development work while remaining in the party.

Banerjee said those wishing to join the BJP should do so openly, seek a BJP ticket and contest elections rather than attempting to undermine the party from within. He accused the alleged rebels of betraying the organisation and abandoning the leadership under whose banner they had been elected.

The developments come amid heightened political activity in West Bengal following recent electoral setbacks for the TMC, though the party leadership continues to maintain that reports of a large-scale rebellion are unfounded.