'For Lord Shiva's sake, don't have anything to do with Sayani Ghosh': Bengal BJP veteran urges Modi, Shah

Former Tripura Governor and senior BJP leader Tathagata Roy on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah not to engage with Trinamool Congress MP Saayoni Ghosh, citing her past controversies.

There have been reports that Ghosh is among a group of TMC MPs backing a rebellion against party chief Mamata Banerjee.

"I don’t care about the rest. But Saayoni Ghosh, TMC MP, posted a meme showing a condom being put on a shivling. It shook me to my innermost being. I had filed a police complaint against her at Rabindra Sarobar PS, Kolkata - predictably with no results," Roy said on X. 

He also referred to a song performed by Ghosh during a TMC election campaign.

"Then she sang a song as part of TMC’s election campaign, which said she had the Kaaba in her eyes, Madina in her heart. For Lord Shiva’s sake, do not have anything to do with her," Roy said while tagging Modi, Shah and the BJP.

Roy has previously served as president of the BJP's West Bengal unit and has been a member of the party's National Executive.

A section of the party's parliamentary unit, reportedly led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, has communicated its alignment with the NDA to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

Nineteen Lok Sabha MPs have reportedly signed a rebel list, including prominent leaders such as Shatrughan Sinha, Yusuf Pathan and Saayoni Ghosh.

India Today reported that the dissident camp has claimed the MPs do not intend to resign from the TMC or formally join the BJP immediately. Instead, they are exploring functioning as a separate bloc while extending support to the NDA, a move aimed at avoiding disqualification under anti-defection provisions.

The Trinamool Congress currently has 28 MPs in the Lok Sabha, with one vacancy following the death of Basirhat MP Haji Nurul Islam.