TMC crisis higlights: BJP leader says Mamata Banerjee should be ‘booked, arrested’ after CID search at her Kolkata home

TMC crisis LIVE: TMC MP Deepak Adhikari (Dev) said he raised the long-pending Ghatal Master Plan issue with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and received assurance that the flood-control project would be taken forward. He said the project is crucial for flood-prone Ghatal in Paschim Medinipur and involves dredging rivers and strengthening embankments.

Dev said he has been pursuing the plan since 2014 and expressed hope that it will get fresh funding and progress under the current state government. He also said his focus remains on constituency development and maintaining “constructive politics,” adding that he is not aligning with any rebel faction within the TMC.

TMC crisis LIVE: West Bengal BJP leader and state minister Agnimitra Paul strongly criticised Mamata Banerjee after a CID team arrived at her Kolkata residence in connection with a forged-signature probe.

"It only shows that nobody is above the Constitution, and nobody is above the law of the land. Mamata Banerjee, as an ex-Chief Minister, tolerated criminals, corruption, and whatnot for the last fifteen years. She never cared for the Constitution. She acted as if West Bengal were another country and she were the Prime Minister of that country. So today, CID is acting, and everyone involved will be brought to book, and the public will be given justice," she said.

She further alleged that the former Chief Minister had "cheated" the people of West Bengal and made remarks against constitutional institutions, central forces, the Prime Minister and the President, reiterating that she should be "booked and arrested".

"The people of Bengal were cheated because of her. The way she spoke against the country, demeaned the central forces, the Prime Minister, and even the Honourable President, she should be booked, she should be arrested," she added. (ANI)

TMC crisis LIVE: West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari has assured that the word “Dham” will be removed from the Jagannath Temple in Digha after objections from the Odisha government over its naming.

The issue escalated after Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi wrote to the West Bengal government, with the letter being handed over to BJP MP Sambit Patra by West Bengal leader Suvendu Adhikari.

Adhikari said, "We will remove the word 'Dham'. The cultural centre complex will remain, and worship will continue." He also said the previous government had "disregarded people's sentiments" over the naming.

TMC crisis LIVE: Trinamool Congress leader and former Bidhannagar mayor Sabyasachi Dutta was arrested from his residence in North 24 Parganas on charges of extortion and criminal intimidation following a complaint by a businessman, who alleged that Dutta had demanded over ₹1 crore from him in 2018.

A Bidhannagar court remanded Dutta to eight days of police custody. As he was being taken to and from court, people allegedly shouted "thief" and threw eggs, tomatoes and cow dung at him.

Dutta denied the allegations, saying, "I am ready to be hanged if they can prove I took even one rupee."

TMC crisis LIVE: Reacting to the reported rebellion by 20 TMC MPs, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury accused the Trinamool Congress of using the same "poaching" tactics it once employed against the Congress. He said, "Their (TMC) strategy was to poach everyone from our (Congress) MLAs down to our elected panchayat representatives," adding that those now leaving the TMC were using the same arguments once used to justify defections to the party.

Chowdhury also alleged that the BJP was taking advantage of the crisis, saying, "BJP believes it should seize this golden opportunity to push through all the pending bills." (PTI)

TMC crisis LIVE: Reacting to reports that 20 TMC MPs had written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking separate seating arrangements, CPI General Secretary D Raja said the Trinamool Congress was facing a deep crisis. He said people deserved to know the party's ideological and political foundations and urged Mamata Banerjee and her colleagues to explain the developments within the TMC. Raja also alleged that "opportunism and political survival are destroying the TMC."

TMC crisis LIVE: Former cricketer-turned-TMC MP Yusuf Pathan is at the centre of the party's growing internal crisis, with rebel MPs and senior leaders publicly naming him as a possible defector.

TMC leaders Mahua Moitra and Kalyan Banerjee alleged that Pathan travelled to Delhi after being called by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Pathan has not responded to the claims, and his position in the ongoing rebellion remains unclear.

The controversy comes amid a revolt within the TMC, with a rebel group claiming the support of nearly 20 of the party's 28 Lok Sabha MPs and seeking recognition as a separate bloc.

TMC crisis LIVE: West Bengal minister Bhaskar Bhattacharya on Tuesday said the issue of 20 Trinamool Congress MPs seeking separate seating arrangements in Parliament would be decided according to constitutional provisions and by the Speaker concerned.

Speaking to reporters, Bhattacharya said, "If they decide that they will not be with Mamata Banerjee or TMC original and they will get the support of the legal frame according to the Constitution, that they should get the symbol, that will be decided by the Constitution, that will be decided by the Speaker."

His remarks came after 20 TMC MPs reportedly wrote to the Lok Sabha Speaker seeking separate seating arrangements. (ANI)

TMC crisis LIVE: On 20 TMC MPs writing a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Congress General Secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal says, "BJP has done the same thing in Maharashtra, and now in West Bengal also, they are doing the same thing. On one side, they are misusing the entire agencies and the election commission to gain power, and on the other side, when they're getting power in some states, they are trying to completely destroy the opposition party through undemocratic ways and not in a principled way at all. I don't think these things are going to survive. The time will come to question all of these things. We are very sure of that."

TMC crisis LIVE: A team of CID reached residence of former chief minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata.

TMC crisis LIVE: At the meeting today at Sonia's residence in Delhi, the two leaders reportedly discussed strategy between Congress and Trinamool Congress going forward after the opposition bloc meeting, and following an exodus of Trinamool members after TMC's defeat to the BJP in the recent Bengal polls, news agency PTI reported citing sources.

TMC crisis LIVE: A team from CID reached Mamata Banerjee's residence in Kalighat, which is also TMC's central party office, on Monday as part of its probe into the alleged forged signature of MLAs controversy that has triggered an unprecedented split in the party.

Officials of the state investigating agency, accompanied by personnel from the Kalighat police station and a large contingent of women police personnel, arrived at the party's central office at 30B Harish Chatterjee Street around noon, new agency PTI reported citing sources.

TMC crisis LIVE: It just took a week for the crisis Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress is facing in Bengal to reach Parliament in Delhi. On Monday, at least 14 members of Parliament of the TMC met West Bengal's BJP chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, a past TMC defector himself, to discuss breaking away from the party and make a separate bloc which would potentially support the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Front.

Now, Mamata Banerjee, who was at the helm of power in West Bengal over a month back, having been chief minister for three straight terms since 2011, finds herself fighting battles on several fronts to keep her party intact — Parliament, legislative assembly, and civic bodies. She found TMC in 1998 after breaking away from Congress.

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TMC crisis LIVE: A team of CID has arrived at the residence of former chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, in Kolkata. Mamata Banerjee, meanwhile, is meeting Sonia Gandhi in Delhi amid rebellion by party MPs, led by Kakoli Ghosh.

TMC crisis LIVE: Former West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee has arrived to meet Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi at her residence in Delhi.

TMC crisis LIVE: Criticisng the TMC MPs’ reported move to join NDA, Congress leader Supriya Shrinate said on Tuesday, “…The same TMC members who were, until yesterday, branded as scammers, fraudsters, and cut-money takers will now become the apple of the BJP's eye."

"They will take a dip in the BJP's washing machine, get sprinkled with holy Ganges water, join the party, and suddenly be hailed as paragons of virtue... If you wish to join the BJP, become an ally, or extend your support, then resign and contest the election again," Shrinate said, speaking to ANI news agency.

TMC crisis LIVE: Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is reportedly set to meet Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi at her residence at 10 Janpath in New Delhi on Tuesday evening.

The meeting is expected to take place at around 4 pm, ANI news agency quoted sources as saying.

The meeting comes a day after senior leaders of the INDIA bloc convened in the national capital to discuss a range of political and national issues.

Both Sonia Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee were present at the high-profile meeting of the INDIA bloc, which was attended by representatives of 25 political parties. The two leaders were seen sharing the stage and sitting alongside other key opposition figures.

TMC crisis LIVE updates: Bengal is being held hostage by the arrogance of a petty and vindictive BJP, said Team Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday as it addressed a press conference over the rebellion by MPs, a week after 58 MLAs rebelled openly.

The BJP government of Bengal has unleashed an era of intimidation, said the TMC on X, adding that “political vendetta and administrative high-handedness, pushing the state towards a complete jungle raj”.

TMC crisis LIVE updates: The people of Bengal stand with us, said Team Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday amid rebellion by party MLAs and MPs. “Our workers, our foot soldiers stand with us - THAT IS THE STRENGTH OF MAA, MATI, MANUSH! This bond is built on trust, sacrifice and an unwavering commitment to the people. No force on earth can break it,” the TMC said on X.

“Bring all your agencies, all your machinery and all your might, but you will never win the hearts of Bengal’s people. Those hearts belong to the ideals of Maa, Mati, Manush,” TMC added.

TMC crisis LIVE: TMC MP Kirti Azad, part of former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's camp, questioned the allegations of corruption against the party and turned the question around to current CM Suvendu Adhikari — who himself is a TMC defector.

"There are allegations of corruption against the party, so I want to know this: when Suvendu Adhikari was caught taking ₹5 lakh and putting it in his own pocket, then why did the BJP later give him a position?" Kirti Azad said, speaking to PTI news agency on Tuesday.

Party MLAs and MPs have broken rank after the crushing defeat in the recently concluded assembly elections in the state. While 58 of party's total 80 MLAs rebelled openly last week, staking claim to become the principal Opposition party in Bengal, MP Kakoli Ghosh on Monday offered support to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) claiming that she has backing of 19 MPs

TMC crisis LIVE updates: Mamata Banerjee, chairperson of the All India Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party, has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla informing that Kalyan Banerjee has been appointed as the chief whip of the TMC in the Lok Sabha with immediate effect.

The letter, shared by PTI news agency, requested that the information be taken on record and necessary action be taken.

TMC crisis LIVE: Amid a split in TMC's parliamentary unit, "dissident" party MPs June Maliah and Deepak Adhikari (popular actor Dev) on Tuesday attended West Bengal chief minister and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's administrative meeting in Purba Medinipur district.

The development comes a day after the TMC imploded as a rebellion that had ruptured its West Bengal assembly ranks reached Parliament, where 20 Lok Sabha MPs led by senior leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar claimed to have written to Speaker Om Birla backing the BJP-led NDA as a "separate bloc".

Maliah, the Medinipur MP, and Ghatal MP Dev, both of whom are claimed to have switched to the rebel TMC camp in the Lok Sabha, and Keshpur MLA Siuli Saha attended the meeting at Kolaghat.

(Via PTI)

Kirti Azad, TMC MP of Team Mamata Banerjee, slammed Kakoli Ghosh over her move to express support for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) with the support of 19 Trinamool Congress MPs.

"Kakoli lost five elections, yet Mamata Banerjee made her an MP, you were removed as chief whip because you would not come to Parliament and would give instructions over the phone," said TMC MP Kirti Azad on rebel MPs.

(Via PTI app)

TMC crisis LIVE: Facing massive rebellion in state and even in Parliament, Trinamool Congress founder and former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is left abandoned with only a few leaders now in her team after the crushing defeat in the recently concluded state elections.

Last week, 58 of party's total 80 MLAs rebelled openly, staking claim to become the principal Opposition party in Bengal, vertically splitting the party. And when the leadership of the crisis-hit party called a meeting at chairperson Mamata's residence on Friday, only eight of the non-rebelling MLAs were present. These included Bina Mondal, Ashima Patra, Madan Mitra, Kunal Ghosh, Firhad Hakim, Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, Biman Banerjee and Ashok Kumar Deb, according to news agency ANI.

Firhad Hakim later resigned as Kolkata mayor and extended support to the rebel camp.

The attendees also included six MPs: Dola Sen, Mala Roy, Kalyan Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee, Derek O'Brien and Sudip Bandyopadhyay. Notably, the TMC has 28 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 13 in the Rajya Sabha.

TMC crisis LIVE: On rebellion within the party, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee, who is a Mamata Banerjee supporter, said on Tuesday, “They [rebel MPs)]went to Bhupender Yadav's residence, CM Suvendu Adhikari also went there, it means they have joined BJP. They have changed their leader from Mamata Banerjee to Narendra Modi.”

"I will invite each MP to face TMC workers in their constituencies and hear what people there say. Democracy has gone, autocracy is prevailing in West Bengal now," he said speaking to ANI news agency.

Kalyan Banerjee was referring to rebel TMC parliamentarians on Monday meeting at the house of Union minister and BJP observer for Bengal polls Bhupender Yadav for two hours. This was happening roughly three kilometres away from where party chief Mamata Banerjee was attending a meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).

In the evening, the rebel group again met at the residence of four-time Birbhum MP Shatabdi Roy.

The developments came hours after veteran TMC leader Sukhendu Sekhar Ray resigned from the Rajya Sabha, alleging “unbridled corruption” and “anarchical rule” of the party. The TMC delegation in the Bengal assembly has already suffered a split after 58 lawmakers last week backed rebel leader Ritabrata Banerjee, who staked claim to the Leader of the Opposition position.

Functionaries aware of developments, cited in an earlier HT report, said Adhikari was present at both meetings of rebel TMC MPs. “In the first meeting, the CM quipped that all of you are senior MPs but you have been badly treated by the TMC brass,” said one of the MPs.

(With inputs from Saubhadra Chatterji)