'People haven't forgotten...': West Bengal BJP rejects claim 17 NCPI MPs will join party

The West Bengal BJP has rejected a claim by rebel TMC MP Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia that 17 of the 20 MPs aligned with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) would join the BJP, news agency PTI reported on Monday.

Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya said the party would not admit anyone simply because they wanted to join. He also said people had not forgotten the alleged actions of the rebel MPs during the TMC government.

"As far as I know, no one from the TMC or NCPI is joining the BJP. People of the state have not forgotten the kind of atrocities these leaders and MPs have done during the TMC regime," Bhattacharya said.

West Bengal BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar also said he had no information about any such development. He said a person expressing a desire to join the BJP did not mean the party would automatically accept them.

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Rebel MP Claims 17 Will Join

Basunia, the Cooch Behar MP, had claimed that 17 of the 20 NCPI MPs would join the BJP before or after Durga Puja. "We are 17 MPs who are going to the BJP together. Since more than two-thirds of the 20 members will be switching, the anti-defection law will not apply to us," he told reporters.

But the claim was quickly disputed by other members of the rebel group.

Satabdi Roy, another rebel MP, said Basunia had spoken in his personal capacity and that no such decision had been taken by the group.

Abu Taher Khan, who is also part of the NCPI group, said Basunia had no right to speak on behalf of all the MPs. He also rejected the claim that he, Jangipur MP Khalilur Rahaman, and Baharampur MP Yusuf Pathan would support the BJP-led NDA from outside. "We will not go to the BJP. We will not go to the NDA. This is clear," Taher said.

He said the three MPs could attend government meetings if invited by the Prime Minister or Chief Minister for development-related issues. But they would not attend BJP or NDA meetings.

Basunia had said the three MPs, who belong to the minority community, would not formally join the BJP because of the political dynamics in their constituencies. He had claimed they could instead support the NDA from outside and be given important responsibilities or portfolios.

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20 MPs' Defection Case

Of the TMC's 27 Lok Sabha MPs, 20 joined the little-known NCPI and extended support to the BJP-led NDA after the TMC's defeat in the West Bengal assembly polls in May this year.

On June 14, the 20 dissident MPs announced their merger with the NCPI and sought recognition as a separate parliamentary group. They have maintained that the move constitutes a valid merger under the two-thirds provision of the anti-defection law.

With 20 MPs in the group, at least 14 would be needed to meet that threshold.

Basunia said the MPs had initially planned to join the BJP directly, but moved to the NCPI after three minority MPs were unwilling to join the BJP.

Lok Sabha records continue to list the 20 MPs as TMC members. Their request for recognition as a separate NCPI group has not been finally settled.

TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee has approached the Supreme Court seeking the disqualification of the 20 MPs under the anti-defection law.

The Lok Sabha Secretariat issued notices to the MPs on August 26, seeking their replies to the disqualification petitions. The MPs sought three more weeks, which Speaker Om Birla granted. The revised deadline is September 22.

The Supreme Court has also issued notices to the 20 MPs.

(With inputs from PTI)