NEW DELHI: At least 20 TMC MPs have submitted a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla expressing their desire to ally with the BJP-led NDA, PTI reported citing party lawmaker Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar on Monday.This came after rebel leader Ritabrata Banerjee called Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Shekhar Ray’s resignation from the party and the Upper House as a sign of widening dissent against the official leadership.“Ray is a senior leader, and his resignation marks the unity of will among us and a significant section of party leaders who are outside the state assembly. Kolkata’s distance from Delhi is barely 1,435 km, and the number of disillusioned TMC parliamentarians is very likely to go up. That development can happen with each passing hour from now,” PTI quoted Ritabrata saying.“I sat in the last bench in the Parliament for 15 months and witnessed junior leaders and RTI activists being awarded front seats. Parliamentary performance was never the yardstick of judgement. I felt terrible for Sukhenduda, who also allotted the last bench,” he added.The contrasting scenes in Delhi highlighted the party’s internal turmoil: while Mamata Banerjee and the TMC leadership attended the INDIA bloc meeting, a group of dissident MPs reportedly convened at Bhupender Yadav’s residence.
