India News | Ex-Tripura Speaker Jiten Sarkar Wants to Join TMC: Mamata

Kolkata, Aug 18 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that former Tripura Assembly speaker Jiten Sarkar wrote to her on Wednesday expressing his willingness to join the Trinamool Congress.

Sarkar, a former Congress MLA, had joined the CPI(M) in 2016 before switching over to the BJP in 2017.

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"Former Tripura Assembly speaker Jiten Sarkar wrote to me today saying that he wants to join the TMC with many others. I have forwarded the matter to Abhishek," she told reporters.

Diamond Harbour MP and the chief minister's nephew Abhishek Banerjee is the TMC's national general secretary.

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"There is no democracy or law and order in Tripura, only goondaism and vandalism," she said.

Banerjee alleged that West Bengal TMC leaders visiting Tripura are facing harassment in various forms, including problems over their stay in hotels.

"This will not go on as we will win Tripura. We want people of the northeastern state to take benefits of the welfare schemes that are running successfully in West Bengal," she said.

Accusing the BJP of causing violence against TMC leaders in Tripura, Banerjee claimed that the northeastern state's governor did not give an appointment to her party leaders and asked them to visit after Independence Day.

"On the other hand, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar sits with BJP leaders every evening," she added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)