Two BJP leaders join TMC, claim saffron party cheating people

Kolkata: Expressing their desire to become a part of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's development agenda, two leaders from BJP's Scheduled Cast Morcha— Dipak Kumar Roy and Subrata Roy—joined the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) party on Sunday during a programme at the Trinamool Bhawan here. TMC Secretary General, Partha Chatterjee, handed over the party flag to these leaders and welcomed them to the party.

Upon joining TMC, Dipak Roy took an indirect jibe at the Union Home minister Amit Shah. Without naming Shah, Roy said: "They are cheating people across various states in the name of CAA."

Making an indirect reference to former MP Dinesh Trivedi's statement in the Rajya Sabha, Roy said: "TMC is like fresh air. People, who are themselves polluted (corrupt), feel suffocated. Thus, they are joining BJP to inhale the polluted air. Roy alleged that BJP was trying to establish "Hindi Raj in Bengal and destroy its culture and heritage." "They have forced the party workers to chant Jai Sri Ram instead of Jai Tara or Jay Durga.

Meanwhile, Chatterjee said the 'Janata card' and the 'Mamata card' matter the most in Bengal and not the 'Ram card,' which Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about.

"The Centre allotted money to five states that faced natural calamities. These states are Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

"We are not against the states that have received the fund. But, what about us? The state had suffered losses worth Rs 1 lakh crore during Amphan and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had given Rs 20,000 to those whose houses got damaged due to the cyclone from state's coffer," the minister claimed.