More Trinamool Congress leaders quit ahead of Shah's visit to West Bengal

Speculation rife that Adhikari, 2 other rebel MLAs may join BJP

A day after former minister Suvendu Adhikari resigned from the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Barrackpore MLA Shilbhadra Dutta — who had been vocal against the meddling by election strategist Prashant Kishor in party affairs — sent his resignation to TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Friday.

TMC leader Kabirul Islam, too, resigned from the post of general secretary of the party’s minority cell, reportedly expressing displeasure against Kishor’s team.

On Thursday evening, Jitendra Tiwari, MLA from Pandabeswar and president of the TMC’s Paschim Bardhaman district unit, had resigned from all positions in the party. Adhikari’s exit from the party was expected to result in a slew of resignations from the TMC, just ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to West Bengal.

The top BJP leader is scheduled to arrive in Kolkata on Friday take stock of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) affairs in the state as the state elections draw near.

Speculation is rife that Adhikari may join the BJP during Shah's visit, along with a slew of disgruntled TMC leaders, including MLAs like Dutta and Tiwari.

Speaking with reporters after sending his resignation to Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal chief minister, Dutta said: “I think that I am unfit in the party in the present scenario. But, I will not resign as an MLA...” 

BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said no leader having self-respect will remain in the TMC, which is a sinking ship. “Only its supremo (Mamata Banerjee) and her nephew (Abhishek Banerjee) will be left in the party along with a handful of their supporters,” he said.

On the other hand, senior TMC leader  Firhad Hakim said he was baffled by Dutta's resignation. “Being a senior leader, Dutta should have approached the top leadership if he had any grievances.”

Meanwhile, West Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee said he has not accepted Adhikari's resignation as it does not conform to the provisions of the Constitution and the rules of the House.

Banerjee noted Adhikari did not hand over the resignation letter to him personally.

Suvendu Adhikari gets 'Z' category VIP security cover

Former TMC MLA Suvendu Adhikari has been accorded a 'Z' category VIP security cover by the central government, official sources said on Friday. They said Adhikari, 50, will be secured by armed commandos of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) whenever he moves in West Bengal. PTI

SC grants protection to BJP leaders facing criminal cases

The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim protection to five BJP leaders, including Mukul Roy and MPs Kailash Vijayvargiya and Arjun Singh, in criminal cases lodged against them in West Bengal and directed the state police not to take any coercive action. PTI

Centre holds talks with Bengal on law and order

Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla discussed the law-and-order situation in West Bengal with two top civil and police officers of the state through a video-conference on Friday, after their refusal to come to New Delhi despite two repeated summonses, officials said. The meeting was first scheduled for December 14, days after an attack on BJP president J P Nadda's convoy in West Bengal, but had to be cancelled after state Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay and Director General of Police (DGP) Virendra refused to travel to the national capital.

The two officers were again called on Thursday for a meeting on Friday. They again refused to come but offered to attend the meeting through a video-conference. PTI