Suvendu Adhikari attacks TMC, says people being sidelined, humiliated in party

Former Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday wrote an open letter to TMC workers stating that the 'very people on the backs of whom the party was created are being sidelined, humiliated and outcast'.

Adhikari asked them to join hands and start a new beginning. The letter states, "Our fight is to restore West Bengal to its glory."

After resigning as a TMC member, Suvendu Adhikari joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday in the presence of Union Minsiter Amit Shah at a rally in Midnapore, West Bengal. Adhikari, who switched over to the BJP from the Mamata Banerjee-led party, said "an extremely deep rot and malaise" has set in to the Trinamool Congress.

In an open letter to "grassroot members" of the TMC as "my fellow sisters and brothers and colleagues of West Bengal" Adhikari lashes out at his former party in the letter.

"The party was not built in one day with the contribution of one person. It is, therefore, especially painful, that the individuals currently in charge of the party are treating it like their personal fiefdom. The very people on the backs of whom the party was created are now being sidelined, humiliated and outcast," he said.

"West Bengal is standing at a critical juncture as the people of the state are destined to make a choice in the 2021 Assembly elections that will impact them forever. Neither West Bengal nor the Trinamool Congress is anyone's fiefdom," Adhikari said.

Adhikari further said instead of focusing on the all-round development of the state and the country, "we are now seeing a situation in which the sole agenda is the enrichment of few particular individuals and their families."

"Political murders are continuing unabated. Illegal activities are continuing without pause. The sole objective of the party our people elected has now become to mislead, oppress, threaten and loot, all while claiming to be defending the Constitution," the former TMC MLA from East Midnapore wrote in his letter.

Adhikari concluded that "I have not left the Trinamool. It is the Trinamool who has left its ideals behind in its relentless pursuit of power instead of service."

Former TMC leader had formally tendered his resignation to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday when he had also resigned from the state Legislative Assembly. After Adhikari's resignation from TMC, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) decided to provide 'Z' category security to him.

( With inputs from ANI )