Siliguri

BJP MP Raju Bista on Tuesday accused the Trinamool Congress leadership of creating the circumstances that have fuelled speculation about a split within the party, asserting that the BJP had no role in the unfolding developments.

Speaking to ANI, the Darjeeling MP alleged that the Mamata Banerjee-led party had functioned in an authoritarian manner and lacked internal democracy.

"TMC and its leadership are responsible for their current situation. The party has no future left because it has been run like a dictatorship. Those who claim to defend democracy in West Bengal have failed to practise it within their own organisation," Bista said.

He further alleged that the party leadership had manipulated internal processes, referring to earlier controversies over the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly.

"They forged the signatures of MLAs and submitted documents to the Speaker to select the Leader of the Opposition. Their attitude did not change even after the elections. Today, many of their own MPs and MLAs no longer wish to remain in the party, and the BJP cannot be blamed for that," he added.

Bista's comments came in the wake of a viral graphic circulating on social media that claimed around 20 Trinamool Congress MPs had formed a separate group and were preparing to extend support to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre.

The list named several prominent TMC leaders, including Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Satabdi Roy, Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia, Partha Bhowmick, Pratima Mondal, Bapi Halder, Mala Roy, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Prasun Banerjee, June Malia, Sharmila Sarkar, Asit Kumar Mal, Mitali Bag, Deepak Adhikari (Dev), Kalipada Soren, Arup Chakraborty, Yusuf Pathan, Rachna Banerjee, Abu Taher Khan and Saugata Roy.

According to the claims made in the viral post, these MPs had allegedly decided to back the NDA while remaining separate from the official Trinamool Congress leadership.

However, Trinamool Congress leader Kirti Azad strongly rejected the reports, describing the circulated list as fabricated and politically motivated.

In a post on X, Azad alleged that the BJP was behind the misinformation campaign and maintained that attempts to engineer divisions within the party had failed.

"This fake and fabricated list has been floated by the BJP. Six of those named have already categorically denied signing any document. Operation Lotus has failed. Amit Shah has failed," Azad wrote.

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The controversy has added another layer of uncertainty to the growing political turmoil within the Trinamool Congress, with the party leadership yet to issue a detailed response on the authenticity of the viral claims.