Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra has taken sharp jabs at senior party leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay, accusing him of misleading the party about his location before he was spotted at Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav's residence in New Delhi.
Bandyopadhyay, along with dissident MP Satabdi Roy, met Yadav amid growing speculation that the rebel faction could approach Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday seeking recognition as a separate parliamentary group.
Mahua Moitra alleged that Bandyopadhyay had told party leaders he had gone to a hospital in Kolkata due to a stomach problem, but was later seen on television at the Union minister's residence in Delhi.
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh also jabbed Bandyopadhyay, referring to what he described as the MP's past record of switching political parties.
The TMC has removed Bandyopadhyay as president of the North Kolkata organisational district and appointed the party's state spokesperson Kunal Ghosh in his place.
Out of the party's 28 Lok Sabha MPs, 19 have come together so far in support of forming a separate parliamentary group in the Lower House.
