Kolkata, May 11 (IANS) Riju Dutta, recently sacked by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) for six years, has claimed that disciplinary action was taken against him because he publicly thanked Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) helping protect his family after they received threats following the West Bengal Assembly elections.

Dutta also levelled serious allegations regarding the party’s ticket distribution process and claimed that the political consultancy firm IPAC was effectively “running the show” and “managing” party’s organisational affairs.

Speaking to IANS, Dutta alleged that he was denied a party ticket to contest the Assembly elections after he refused to pay Rs 50 lakh that was allegedly demanded from him.

“For the last 6 months, IPAC has been running the party. My ticket was confirmed, I was told. Then I was asked for Rs. 50 lakhs, which I did not have. At night, my wife and mother gave me their jewellery. But in the morning, Ma Kali saved it, and I returned it to her. I said, no, we don’t want to sell all this and take the ticket,” Dutta claimed.

He further alleged that the money was not demanded by the Trinamool Congress leadership directly but by individuals allegedly linked to IPAC.

“IPAC demanded the money, not the TMC. Someone named Arjun called me and demanded the money,” he added.

Dutta said that despite working for the Trinamool Congress for over a decade and remaining loyal to the party, he was suspended after he acknowledged help received from BJP leaders during a difficult situation involving threats to his family members.

“I have been doing TMC for 13 years. I have done TMC with my life. I was in Nandigram for 27 days. Suvendu Adhikari was the MLA there at that time. I visited Nandigram, too. But when on May 4, there was a change of power in Bengal, and the CPI(M) goons who had become Trinamool in 2011 became BJP in 2026. These were the people who were rioting, not the old BJP people,” he said.

Claiming that his family members received threats after the election results, Dutta alleged that his mother and wife were specifically targeted.

“That day, my mother got several phone calls, threatening her that her son would be beheaded and she would be burnt alive, and my wife, who has no connection to politics, gets rape threats,” he alleged.

According to Dutta, he subsequently contacted several senior BJP leaders seeking assistance and support regarding the threats.

“Then I called several top BJP leaders, and they picked up my calls and told me about the threats. After that, I only thanked the BJP for saving my family, and just for this, I was removed from the party,” he claimed.

Reacting to his suspension from the Trinamool Congress, Dutta said he did not consider the party’s action as punishment and instead viewed it as recognition of his loyalty and honesty.

“It’s not a punishment, it’s a big reward. I will frame that suspension letter at home. I will keep it in my bedroom, so that every morning I can see my honesty, my loyalty, my love that I gave to that party. Look at what I did for that party and the reward I got for it, I will put it in my bedroom, so that I can see it every morning the result of my loyalty,” he said.

The Trinamool Congress has not yet officially responded to the allegations made by Dutta regarding ticket distribution, the alleged demand for money or his claims involving IPAC.

–IANS

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