New Delhi: In a surprise jolt to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her party TMC’s Rajya Sabha MP Dinesh Trivedi resigned from the Upper House while participating in the debate on Union Budget.
The 70-year old MP, who hails from a Gujarati business family, resigned with some histrionics in ‘filmi style’, stating that since he had reached an inflection point, he was “feeling suffocated’’ within the party.
Incidentally, Trivedi wanted to be an actor and had even taken admission in Pune's Film Institute but did not pursue it because he realized it was not a serious vocation.
Trivedi said that he was forced to take a decision and listen to his inner voice after looking at “the kind of violence that is taking place in my state” of West Bengal. However, he would continue to work for “Bengal and the country,” he added, amid speculation that he was joining the BJP.
If he joins the BJP, he will be simply reinforcing what he has been doing all this while: He has the reputation of deserting political parties when they hit bad times. He did so as a Congress MP from Gujarat and then switched over to the TMC from the Janata Dal when it seemed impossible that the party would ever come to power. He has studied at St Xavier’s College in Kolkata and is well-conversant in Bengali. He opted to settle down in Bengal for his pursuing his business after leaving Gujarat.
Trivedi said the world was looking at how India would move forward during the pandemic under the leadership of the Prime Minister – a clear indication where his heart lies.
In fact, indications came moments after the news emanated with senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya telling reporters: "Dinesh Trivedi is more than welcome to join the BJP. He has taken a year to quit the party, though". The BJP leader said he had met Trivedi a year ago and he had told him "things were not good".
Trivedi began his political career with the Congress which he joined in the 1980s but quit on the Bofors purchase issue and joined the Janata Dal to be with V P Singh.
Trivedi’s resignation comes just months before the assembly elections in West Bengal, which have seen a number of high -profile defections from the TMC to the BJP, including Suvendu Adhikari and Rajib Banerjee.
