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Trinamool Rebel Claims BJP Entry Plan, Fellow Dissidents Disagree
Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia is a politician who left the Trinamool Congress camp.
He says that 20 rebel MPs planned to join the Bharatiya Janata Party.
According to him, 17 may do this before or after Durga Puja.
He says the group first joined a little-known party called the Nationalist Citizens Party of India.
He claims this was done to avoid problems under the anti-defection law.
Some of the other rebel MPs say Basunia was speaking only for himself.
One of them said they would not join the BJP or its alliance.
The BJP’s Bengal leader also questioned Basunia’s statement.
The Trinamool Congress says the arrangement shows political opportunism.
Cooch Behar MP Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia said 17 of 20 rebel Trinamool MPs may join the BJP before or after Durga Puja.
Basunia said the rebels were temporarily merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India to avoid anti-defection-law complications.
He cited meetings involving Amit Shah, Suvendu Adhikari, Bhupender Yadav and Om Birla as part of the alleged plan.
Fellow dissident Abu Taher Khan rejected the claim, saying he and others would not join either the BJP or the NDA.
BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya questioned the claim, while Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh accused the BJP of sheltering defectors through a shell party.
- Who
- Cooch Behar MP Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia, other Trinamool dissidents, the BJP and Trinamool Congress leaders.
- What
- Basunia claimed that 17 of 20 rebel MPs plan to join the BJP after temporarily merging with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India; fellow dissidents and the state BJP disputed the claim.
- Where
- Basunia spoke at his home in Cooch Behar, West Bengal, while some alleged planning meetings took place in Delhi.
- When
- Basunia made the claim at a news conference on Monday; he said the possible BJP induction could occur before or after Durga Puja.
- Why
- Basunia said the temporary merger was intended to avoid anti-defection-law problems before a possible BJP entry; BJP sources cited the Centre’s need for parliamentary support for critical bills.
Basunia and BJP-entry proponents
Dissenting rebels and BJP skeptics
Planned BJP membership
Basunia and BJP-entry proponents
Basunia said 17 of 20 rebel MPs had decided to join the BJP before or after Durga Puja.
Dissenting rebels and BJP skeptics
Abu Taher Khan said Basunia was expressing his own opinion and that the rebels would not join the BJP or the NDA; Satabdi Roy also distanced herself from the claim.
Purpose of the NCPI merger
Basunia and BJP-entry proponents
Basunia said the merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India was a temporary route into the BJP and was intended to avoid anti-defection-law complications.
Dissenting rebels and BJP skeptics
Kunal Ghosh alleged that the BJP created or used the NCPI as temporary shelter because directly accepting the defectors could damage its public image; the BJP did not confirm the allegation.
Political credibility of the plan
Basunia and BJP-entry proponents
Basunia cited meetings with senior BJP figures and said the rebels were ready to join the party.
Dissenting rebels and BJP skeptics
BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya responded that the BJP the rebels wanted to join might be “the BJP of Mars,” while the state BJP avoided directly confirming the plan.
Key facts
- Claimed rebel group
- Basunia said 20 MPs had agreed to join the BJP.
- Expected BJP entry
- He said 17 MPs could join before or after Durga Puja.
- Temporary party
- The rebels were merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India, which Basunia described as an unrecognised party.
- Named meetings
- Basunia referred to four meetings at Union minister Bhupender Yadav’s Delhi residence and strategy sessions involving Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
- Minority MPs
- Basunia said Khalilur Rahaman, Yusuf Pathan and Abu Taher Khan might avoid formal BJP induction because of the demographics of their constituencies.
- Public dispute
- Abu Taher Khan said the rebels would not join the BJP or the NDA, while Samik Bhattacharya questioned Basunia’s claim.
- Earlier inductions
- Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Chik Baraik were inducted into the BJP on July 9 after resigning as parliamentarians in June.
Quotes
Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia
Cooch Behar MP and Trinamool rebel
“This is our way of getting into the BJP in the future... that’s it. Before or after Puja, that will happen.”
telegraphindia.com
“We will not join the BJP; we will not join the NDA.”
telegraphindia.com
Sources
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