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Kolkata: The war of words between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP intensified after dissident TMC MPs announced their merger with the little-known NCPI and pledged support to the NDA, with Mamata Banerjee’s camp dismissing the move as “ridiculous” and the saffron party describing it as evidence of TMC’s deepening crisis.

Senior TMC MP Sougata Roy ridiculed the rebels’ decision to merge with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India, a Tripura-based registered unrecognised party, questioning both its political relevance and the dissidents’ ability to justify the move before voters.

“Once you betray the party on whose symbol you were elected, how will you face your constituents? This merger is ridiculous. Who knows NCPI? Can they go to their constituencies and tell people that they are now part of NCPI? This merger reflects the desperation of the traitors to please their BJP masters,” Roy told PTI on Sunday, June 14.

Alleging that the move had the tacit backing of the BJP, Roy said the dissident MPs had chosen the NCPI route only because parliamentary rules do not permit the recognition of a separate bloc within an existing party.

“That is why they took this route with direct support from the BJP. This is ridiculous. The public support will remain with the TMC led by Mamata Banerjee and not with the traitors,” he said.

The comments came hours after rebel TMC MPs met Speaker Om Birla and sought a separate seating arrangement in the House after announcing their merger with the NCPI.

The dissident camp claimed that 20 MPs — more than two-thirds of the party’s Lok Sabha strength of 28 MPs — had backed the move and would support the NDA in Parliament.

The Mamata Banerjee-led faction has challenged the rebels’ claim before the Speaker, arguing that the Constitution and the anti-defection law do not permit recognition of a separate faction within a political party.

The BJP, however, sought to turn the spotlight back on the TMC leadership, saying the mass defection reflected growing disenchantment within the ruling party.

BJP state spokesperson Sayantan Basu said the development was an internal matter of the TMC and that the party leadership should introspect instead of blaming others.

“If they join the NCPI and support the NDA and government Bills, it is good for the country. The fact is that no one wants to remain in the TMC. Its leadership should do serious introspection instead of blaming others,” he said.