Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], May 15 : Former TMC leader Riju Dutta on Friday offered a surprisingly pragmatic, if not biting, take on the state's new administration.
Speaking from the perspective of a man suspended by his own party for acknowledging the opposition, Dutta's latest comments suggest a "wait and see" approach toward the BJP's debut at the helm in Kolkata.
Speaking to ANI, Dutta, once a fierce defender of the TMC, notably characterised the BJP's first-ever term in Bengal as a "honeymoon phase." While the political atmosphere remains charged, he cautioned critics against jumping the gun.
Dutta pushed back against the idea of instant miracles, specifically referencing the Leader of the Opposition turned key strategist. "Suvendu Adhikari is not Harry Potter, who will spin a magic wand and everything will be done in Bengal. They will also have to give some time," he said.
In a rare moment of cross-party validation, he described the initial cabinet decisions as "very good," urging the public to give the new government the necessary time to implement their vision.
"The decisions they have taken in the first cabinet are very good. They are doing a great work but they have to maintain it," he added.
Taking a different stance on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Riju Dutta said it is "insulting to the people" to pin the blame of defeat on SIR, highlighting the high voter percentage and other factors that came due to which TMC faced defeat.
"In the SIR process, the names of 91 lakh people were struck off. Of those, the names of approximately 26-27 lakh people are still pending before the Tribunal. The TMC secured 41% of the vote. There is a margin of 32 lakh votes between the TMC and the BJP," he said.
"It is also an undeniable fact that 93% of Bengal's people turned out to cast their votes; such a high voter turnout has never been witnessed in Bengal since independence... Therefore, if we were to claim today that 'we haven't lost; the SIR is what defeated us,' we would be insulting the people of Bengal. We must not do this. We must humbly accept and honour the verdict delivered by the people of Bengal," he added.
The most stinging portion of Dutta's address focused on the internal mechanics of the TMC. He positioned himself as part of a growing list of leaders, including Suvendu Adhikari, Tapas Roy, and Nishith Pramanik, who didn't necessarily leave the party by choice but were "pushed out."
"A political party is built by its cadres and grassroots workers. Yet, you abandoned your own cadres and workers, leaving them to face violence and death alone. And now you intend to launch a 'national movement' and set the narrative for Delhi ahead of 2029? The battle of electoral politics cannot be won solely through Facebook, Twitter, and social media," he said.
Speaking about his suspension from the party, Dutta alleged that the party tends to remove people who tend to rise within the ranks. Responding to the "opportunist" claims, he said that those TMC leaders have "already gone to the BJP's account."
TMC suspended Riju Dutta for a period of six years, citing alleged violations of party discipline and non-compliance with summons issued by its disciplinary committee.
According to the suspension order issued from the party's central office in Kolkata, Dutta had earlier been served a show-cause notice over certain public statements made against the party and its leadership.
The suspension came after Dutta took a different stance post-election results in which the BJP secured a clear majority, winning 207 seats.
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