Another jolt to TMC | MP Sushmita Dev resigns from Rajya Sabha; meets Himanta Biswa Sarma

Trinamool Congress MP Sushmita Dev on Wednesday resigned as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the second TMC MP to resign this week. Dev, a former Congress leader who had joined the TMC a few years ago, met Rajya Sabha chairman C P Radhakrishnan and resigned from the membership of the House. She is the second MP of the TMC to resign this week. Earlier, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray had tendered his resignation from the party as well as the Rajya Sabha. Sources said Dev is likely to quit the TMC and join the BJP. She has also met Assam chief minister Humanta Biswa Sarma. In her resignation letter, she said, "I do hereby resign from the membership of Rajya Sabha, which may please be accepted with immediate effect." "I convey my sincere gratitude to your excellency, hon'ble deputy chairman and all functionaries of the Rajya Sabha secretariat extending all help and cooperation during my tenure as a member of the Rajya Sabha," Dev said in the letter to the Chairman. The Trinamool Congress is facing a rebellion after its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly polls, with several party MPs deciding to form a separate group and align with the ruling NDA. A majority of Trinamool’s 80 MLAs have already formed a separate group led by Ritabrata Banerjee as the leader of opposition in the state Assembly.