BJP leader Dinesh Trivedi Exclusive
Former Trinamool Congress MP Dinesh Trivedi, who joined BJP on Saturday, in an exclusive conversation with India TV, spoke in detail on why did he choose to join the saffron party, why he was feeling suffocated in TMC, on the forthcoming elections in the state and other issues. Trivedi joined BJP just weeks after he announced quitting his Rajya Sabha membership on the floor of the House deploring "violence" in poll-bound West Bengal. He joined the BJP in the presence of its president JP Nadda, and Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Dharmendra Pradhan besides other leaders.
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- Dinesh Trivedi said it was his inner voice that moved him to leave TMC and join BJP.
- He said that there is so much violence, corruption in Bengal during TMC's rule and you can't do anything about it.
- Issues like cut money, violence have hurt the image of Bengal which is perhaps the culture of TMC.
- The Trinamool Congress is not under Mamata Banerjee's control anymore. New consultants have come who are controlling the party, preparing the candidates list.
- There are several other leaders, workers in the party who are not happy.
- Even the people of Bengal are not happy and when the public is not happy, then you have seen that even Indira Gandhi had lost the election.
- Hitting out at Mamata, Trivedi said they keep saying that TMC is a poor party but when you pay loads of money to some consultants, then the question arises is whose money is that... its public money.
- The entire administration knows about the cut money culture in Bengal, they are themselves involved in it. You talk about the coal scam, can you digest that such a huge corruption can take place without the adminstration's involvement in it, Trivedi asked.
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- Even the administration is not happy and they will be the most satisfied when this change of government will take place... because they are working under pressure.
- Today, I received greeting messages from police officers in Bengal, telling me that I did the right thing (by joining the BJP).
- On Mamata's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, Trivedi said when they were struggling, establishing the party, these people were not there. And if the party has slipped from Mamata's hand, then it will be in control of some other person.
- Trivedi criticised Mamata's choice of language against the Prime Minister, saying that's not the language that represents the Bengali culture.
- On feeling suffocated in the party, Trivedi said after every interview or interaction on a TV channel, we were asked why didn't we abuse Amit Shah or Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "I said I cannot do this, please pardon me," Trivedi added.
- Praising PM Modi, Trivedi said that the entire world is looking forward to him, fighting coronavirus was an example of PM Narendra Modi's leadership. The way vaccination drive has been implemented, nowhere in the world, such an exercise has taken place. This shows that there is teamwork...
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- Trivedi also raised the issue of violence in Bengal... when JP Nadda's convoy was attacked saying it was a serious issue.
- On TMC's outsider remark on BJP, Trivedi said he feels that people in Bengal have started feeling that TMC is itself is an outsider's party... because Mamata Banerjee does not represent Bengali culture.
- On Jai Shri Ram slogans, Trivedi said these slogans are not political... it is the people of Bengal who are chanting it... it is against the politics of appeasement.
- Mamata Banerjee herself feels that people have lost faith in her... even Muslims are not happy.
- Trivedi said that people belonging to the Muslim community tells him that he did the right thing by joining the BJP, adding they themselves will vote for the saffron party this time because TMC have only used them for vote bank politics.
- People have faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi... the entire world looks up to him adding what he says, he does.
- Trivedi said that even senior TMC leaders today called him up saying "you had the guts, you left the party... I said I had the conviction."
- Many leaders in the party are feeling suffocated in TMC.
- The TMC is not just afraid, it knows and believes that it is going to lose in the elections this time.
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