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Baraik will formally submit his letter of resignation to Vice President CP Radhakrishnan at 11 am, becoming the third TMC MP to resign this week.
Former TMC MP Prakash Chik Baraik submitted his resignation to Vice President CP Radhakrishnan.
In a fresh jolt for Mamata Banerjee, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Prakash Chik Baraik resigned as a member of the Rajya Sabha and from the party on Thursday, becoming the third party MP to do so after Sukhendu Sekhar Roy and Sushmita Dev.
Baraik submitted his letter of resignation to Vice President CP Radhakrishnan at 11 am today. After his resignation, the TMC’s strength in the Upper House will come down to 10.
“I, respecting the opinion of the people of Bengal, have also submitted my resignation,” he told CNN-News18.
“I do hereby resign from the membership of Rajya Sabha, which may please be accepted with immediate effect. I convey my sincere gratitude to your Excellency, Hon’ble Deputy Chairman and all functionaries of Rajya Sabha Secretariat extending all help and cooperation during my tenure as a Member of the Rajya Sabha,” Baraik said in his letter.
TMC Exodus From Rajya Sabha
The Trinamool Congress has been grappling with an existential crisis, ranging from public defections and bitter internal feuds to the resignations of senior figures. The Rajya Sabha exodus began when veteran TMC leader Sukhendu Sekhar Roy resigned from his Rajya Sabha seat and the party.
The 77-year-old former MP, who had been outspoken about corruption within the party after its electoral defeat, was the first MP to resign after an MLA revolt in the West Bengal Assembly.
In another setback for the beleaguered party, Sushmita Dev quit the party and resigned from the Upper House, citing political and personal reasons. “As of this morning, I’m not in any party. I have resigned from the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) and left the Rajya Sabha seat also,” she told CNN-News18.
Her recent meeting with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in New Delhi has fuelled speculation about a possible political realignment towards the BJP. However, she maintained that her decision was driven by personal and political considerations and rejected suggestions of opportunism.
The latest turmoil comes days after rebel TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said that a group of 20 MPs has formally requested separate seating arrangements in the Lok Sabha, pointing to an organisational divide within the party’s parliamentary ranks. Reports indicate that three more TMC MPs are planning to resign in the coming days.
The TMC leadership also faced a major setback in the West Bengal Assembly, where 58 of the party’s 80 MLAs defied the high command by rejecting its choice of veteran leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of the Opposition and instead elected expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee to the post.
About the Author
Pallavi Ghosh has covered politics and Parliament for 15 years, and has reported extensively on Congress, UPA-I and UPA-II, and has now included the Finance Ministry and Niti Aayog in her reportage. S…Read More
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