There would be a letter by now’: Mahua Moitra rejects TMC rebels’ claim of backing from 20 MPs

As defections continue to shake the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra has rejected claims by rebel leaders that they have the backing of around 20 party MPs, saying such numbers would have already been publicly demonstrated if they were real.

In an interview with HT following the resignation of Sushmita Dev, Moitra said the responsibility lies with the dissidents to prove their strength.

“They have been claiming they have 20 MPs. If that were true, there would have been a letter, signatures and a joint press conference by now. I can categorically say they do not have 20 MPs,” she said.

Moitra also argued that even if the rebel camp managed to gather 20 MPs, it would not automatically shield them from the anti-defection law. She pointed out that under the law, two-thirds of the political party—not merely its parliamentary wing—would have to break away and formally merge with another party, such as the BJP, for anti-defection provisions not to apply.

“Even if they had 20 MPs, what would it get them? They could sit separately, but there is no provision for a separate faction or bloc to be recognised in the Lok Sabha or Assembly,” she said, adding that those choosing to back the BJP would effectively be ending their political future within the TMC.

Her comments came after Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, one of the leaders in the rebel camp, claimed that nearly 20 TMC MPs had decided to support the NDA and had written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking separate seating arrangements as an independent bloc.

On the resignation of Sushmita Dev, Moitra said leaders are free to make their own political decisions but noted that the TMC had backed Dev by sending her to the Rajya Sabha twice.

“People are free to choose their path. She left the Congress to join us and was given a Rajya Sabha seat twice. The reasons for her departure are for her to explain,” Moitra said.

Referring to the resignations of Dev and Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, she said it remains to be seen whether those exiting the party eventually join the BJP.

Despite the recent departures, Moitra maintained that morale within the party remains intact. She described the exits as a form of “cleansing” and suggested that some leaders who had benefited from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s leadership should have been removed long ago.

According to Moitra, Banerjee’s loyalty and emotional attachment to colleagues often led her to stand by people for years, even when they no longer contributed to the party’s growth.