Trinamul Congress MP Dinesh Trivedi on Friday sprang a surprise on the floor of the Rajya Sabha by announcing his resignation from the Upper House, saying he could no longer stay silent when violence was allegedly rocking Bengal.
The businessman-turned-parliamentarian later announced his resignation from Trinamul which had lost several leaders to the BJP in recent months.
Originally from Gujarat, Trivedi was the railways minister for a brief period in the UPA 2 government. He made the announcement during a debate on the Union Budget in the Rajya Sabha.
“If one sits here in silence and can’t do anything, then it is better that one resigns from this place, goes to the land of Bengal and stays with the people…. What I mean is the way violence has been taking place in our state… sitting here, I feel baffled, as to what I should do,” said Trivedi in the Rajya Sabha, shortly before handing over his resignation to Vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu, the chairman of the Upper House. Trivedi explained to the Naidu that he resigned on his own without fear or favour.
“I am grateful to my party, for it sent me here. But now, I feel a little suffocated,” he added. “We are incapable of acting and there are atrocities being committed…. My inner voice of conscience is telling me something Swami Vivekananda used to say: “Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached”.”
The septuagenarian with three Rajya Sabha and two Lok Sabha terms under his belt is yet to announce plans. But given that his statements in the House and outside were a virtual echo of Trinamul office-bearers who defected to the BJP in recent memory, few would be surprised if he joins the ruling party at the Centre.
Irrespective of the dismissive tone of statements from Trinamul, Trivedi’s exit would be significant to Mamata Banerjee, with whom he has shared an association of over two decades.
In his multiple media interactions through the day, Trivedi said Mamata had lost control of the party and it was being taken over by poll consultant Prashant Kishor (whom he did not name).
“When the party goes into the hands of a corporate professional, he is running the party, no one has time to listen. Somebody doesn’t know the ABC of politics, he is becoming my neta (leader). So what can people do in such a situation?” he asked.
Trivedi said his party was allegedly pestering him to abuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi daily, which he claimed was not part of his value system. He did sound off-tune on several occasions in the past — especially after being removed as Union minister by Mamata in 2012 as she disagreed with his railway budget — but was not deemed a likely candidate for defection.
“She (Mamata) sacrificed Arjun Singh, who wanted the Barrackpore Lok Sabha candidature, to stand by Dinesh… who contested and lost to Arjun, the BJP candidate. After that, she sent him to the Rajya Sabha again last year. This is how he pays her back,” said Trinamul MP Kalyan Banerjee.
A Trinamul insider said Trivedi, known for his proximity to both the BJP and the Congress high-commands, was all set to board the saffron bandwagon.
Trinamul’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said Trivedi was “ungrateful” and accused him of having betrayed the trust of millions. “For decades, he did not utter a word within the party. With weeks or months left for the Assembly polls, he feels suffocated. Such well-timed suffocation and claustrophobia are a worrying sign for his health,” Roy added .
Trinamul vice-president and veteran parliamentarian Saugata Roy said people like Trivedi should have flagged his concerns within the party first and not leave just before the polls, having enjoyed years of power.
Among the first in the BJP to welcome Trivedi was Arjun Singh.
The BJP’s national general-secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said: “Anyone who wishes to work for the people of Bengal cannot be part of Trinamul anymore.”
“I believe Dineshji delayed all this by a year, because a year ago, he had met me at the airport and said he was not being able to work in Trinamul…. If he wants to come, we will welcome him,” he added.
The Left Front mocked Trivedi and Trinamul in equal measure. “This isn’t anything new. It’s just a part of the long line. Trinamul has been reduced to a railway platform from where people are either boarding a train or getting off it,” said CPM general-secretary Sitaram Yechury.
“Everyday, people are quitting Trinamul. However, given the track record of the alliance between the two parties (Trinamul and the BJP), it doesn’t make much of a difference if you’re here or there,” he added.
