Jawhar Sircar, who had questioned the TMC government in West Bengal over steps taken after the Calcutta rape-murder incident, on Thursday resigned from his Rajya Sabha membership.

According to official sources, Rajya Sabha chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar has accepted his resignation as Rajya Sabha member with immediate effect.

Sircar had recently written to his party head and state chief minister Mamata Banerjee describing the steps taken by her government in handling the rape and murder of the doctor at RG Kar hospital "too little and quite late".

He had also announced that he would quit politics altogether.

Following Sircar's resignation, the Trinamool Congress now has 12 members in the upper house.

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