As many as 59 rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) legislators arrived at the West Bengal assembly in Kolkata to stake claim as the main opposition party, leaving the other Mamata Banerjee-led faction in an unprecedented crisis.
The dissidents include former ministers such as Javed Ahmed Khan, Arup Roy, Chandranath Sinha, and Sabina Yasmin. Many of the 59 face probes by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate.
Let us hold our meeting. We have more than two-thirds of our [assembly] members with us, said Sandipan Saha, the lawmaker from Kolkata's Entally, before entering the assembly.
The TMC on Monday expelled Saha and Ritabrata Banerjee, who is leading the dissidents, for anti-party activities. On Wednesday, Banerjee arrived first at the assembly armed with a signed letter from the dissidents.
