Et tu, Yusuf Pathan? Mahua Moitra smells betrayal as TMC MP rushes to Delhi
Around 20 TMC Lok Sabha MPs, led by Chief Whip Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, have decided to write to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, declaring support for the NDA, triggering a major split in the party's parliamentary unit
- Jun 8, 2026,
- Updated Jun 8, 2026 7:07 PM IST
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Monday launched a blistering attack on rebel party MPs who have declared support for the BJP-led NDA, accusing them of betraying the mandate on which they were elected and daring them to resign and seek a fresh verdict from voters.
Her remarks came after a group of around 20 TMC Lok Sabha MPs, led by Chief Whip Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, decided to write to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla declaring support for the NDA, triggering a major split in the party's parliamentary unit and intensifying the crisis facing Mamata Banerjee after the party's Assembly election defeat.
Taking to social media, Moitra said the MPs were elected on a Trinamool Congress mandate and not on a BJP or NDA platform.
"MPs won in 2024 on TMC ticket. Mandate was NOT for NDA. All the greedy self-serving traitors with yellow-stained pants can please join BJP now- resign your seats & contest on BJP ticket. Let's see what big heroes you are," she wrote.
Moitra also singled out TMC MP Yusuf Pathan, questioning reports of his visit to Delhi amid the escalating political turmoil.
"And Yusuf Pathan, you are rushing to Delhi because @AmitShah has called you? Have some courage. You played for India. Our district voted you in with a huge margin. Have some shame & some spine," she said.
The comments came as rebel MPs moved to formalise their support for the NDA without immediately resigning from the Trinamool Congress or joining the BJP.
Speaking to India Today, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said nearly 20 TMC MPs had decided to write to Speaker Om Birla and formally support the NDA. "We have accepted the people's verdict and believe that our future political course should be aligned with the NDA," she said.
The dissident MPs are seeking to function as a separate parliamentary bloc while backing the NDA, a move aimed at securing protection under the anti-defection law.
The rebels plan to argue that Ghosh Dastidar continues to be the valid chief whip of the party in the Lok Sabha and that her replacement by Kalyan Banerjee was never formally communicated to the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
The arithmetic is crucial. The Trinamool Congress currently has 28 Lok Sabha MPs, with one vacancy following the death of Basirhat MP Haji Nurul Islam. The support of 20 MPs would comfortably cross the two-thirds threshold required for protection under the anti-defection law.
The rebellion, which follows the party's loss of control over a large section of its legislative wing in West Bengal, now threatens to weaken Mamata Banerjee's grip over the TMC's parliamentary ranks as well.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Monday launched a blistering attack on rebel party MPs who have declared support for the BJP-led NDA, accusing them of betraying the mandate on which they were elected and daring them to resign and seek a fresh verdict from voters.
Her remarks came after a group of around 20 TMC Lok Sabha MPs, led by Chief Whip Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, decided to write to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla declaring support for the NDA, triggering a major split in the party's parliamentary unit and intensifying the crisis facing Mamata Banerjee after the party's Assembly election defeat.
Taking to social media, Moitra said the MPs were elected on a Trinamool Congress mandate and not on a BJP or NDA platform.
"MPs won in 2024 on TMC ticket. Mandate was NOT for NDA. All the greedy self-serving traitors with yellow-stained pants can please join BJP now- resign your seats & contest on BJP ticket. Let's see what big heroes you are," she wrote.
Moitra also singled out TMC MP Yusuf Pathan, questioning reports of his visit to Delhi amid the escalating political turmoil.
"And Yusuf Pathan, you are rushing to Delhi because @AmitShah has called you? Have some courage. You played for India. Our district voted you in with a huge margin. Have some shame & some spine," she said.
The comments came as rebel MPs moved to formalise their support for the NDA without immediately resigning from the Trinamool Congress or joining the BJP.
Speaking to India Today, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said nearly 20 TMC MPs had decided to write to Speaker Om Birla and formally support the NDA. "We have accepted the people's verdict and believe that our future political course should be aligned with the NDA," she said.
The dissident MPs are seeking to function as a separate parliamentary bloc while backing the NDA, a move aimed at securing protection under the anti-defection law.
The rebels plan to argue that Ghosh Dastidar continues to be the valid chief whip of the party in the Lok Sabha and that her replacement by Kalyan Banerjee was never formally communicated to the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
The arithmetic is crucial. The Trinamool Congress currently has 28 Lok Sabha MPs, with one vacancy following the death of Basirhat MP Haji Nurul Islam. The support of 20 MPs would comfortably cross the two-thirds threshold required for protection under the anti-defection law.
The rebellion, which follows the party's loss of control over a large section of its legislative wing in West Bengal, now threatens to weaken Mamata Banerjee's grip over the TMC's parliamentary ranks as well.