New Delhi, June 15 (IANS) Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav on Monday sharply criticised the ‘rebel’ 20 Trinamool MPs, who have joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), alleging that those once elevated by Mamata Banerjee were now betraying her.

“The people whom Mamata Banerjee picked up from garbage and made ministers, MLAs, and MPs are now betraying her,” Ram Gopal Yadav told IANS.

He also criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party, alleging a broader institutional and constitutional concern.

Ram Gopal Yadav said, “The Bharatiya Janata Party is not eliminating regional parties; it is weakening the Constitution and working towards dividing the country.”

The political realignment comes as the dissident Trinamool bloc appears to be moving closer to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Rebel MP Satabdi Roy, who returned to Kolkata after meetings in New Delhi, said the group is still in its early stages but indicated its political direction.

“We are still in the very early stages,” Roy said, while also making it clear that the rebel camp intends to align with the NDA in the future, reducing ambiguity over its political trajectory.

The rebellion, which began in the West Bengal Assembly where a section of Trinamool legislators broke away from the official party fold, has now expanded into Parliament. The dissident MPs claim support from more than 20 Lok Sabha members, deepening the crisis for the party.

The developments mark one of the most serious internal challenges faced by the Trinamool Congress soon after losing the Assembly elections, with the split now extending from the state legislature to the national level.

Trinamool has meanwhile described the rebel MPs’ move to merge with the little-known NCPI as “ridiculous”, while accusing the breakaway group of undermining party unity.

The NCPI has generally positioned itself as supportive of the NDA’s broader political agenda while maintaining a separate organisational identity.

–IANS

rs/dpb