Former Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Dinesh Trivedi on Saturday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the latest in a long list of such high-profile defections from the TMC to the BJP over the past few months.
Moments after joining the BJP ahead of the Assembly polls, Trivedi said only thanking Nadda would not suffice his feelings. "It is a golden moment for me and I was waiting for this moment," he said.
Calling BJP a party where people are family, Trivedi without naming the party took a potshot at the Trinamool Congress, saying that there is a party that serves a family and not people.
Trivedi joined the BJP in presence of party president JP Nadda. Union Minister Piyush Goyal was also present.
'Right man in right party'
While welcoming Trivedi, Nadda said Trivedi met him two months ago and expressed his desire to serve the country.
"I am happy to welcome Trivedi to the party. He expressed his desire to work for the country under the leadership of PM Modi. Trivedi has long experience in politics. He has undertaken an ideological journey and fought for ideologies keeping power apart. He is like flowing water and it is only BJP that can amalgamate people of different ideologies," the BJP chief said.
Nadda also said the former TMC MP has always paid the price for principles.
"When I talk about Dinesh Trivedi, I always used to say that he is the right person in the wrong party. Now when we are welcoming him, I am happy to say that now the right person is in the right party. We will be able to use him to serve the country under the leadership of PM Modi. He has always paid the price principles," he added.
Nadda also announced that Trivedi will serve West Bengal and will actively participate in state Assembly polls 2021.
"He (Dinesh Trivedi) will serve West Bengal. He will also actively participate in West Bengal Assembly polls," he said.
"Be it as rail minister or member of Trinamool Congress. If we see now, for principles, he left the seat of Rajya Sabha. This is a perfect example of idealism versus opportunism. This also speaks about BJP that gives a forum to nationalist persons," he said.
"TMC is the epitome of corruption, the murderer of institutions and democracy and this all signifies TMC in Bengal," the BJP chief added.
All about Dinesh Trivedi
The 70-year-old had resigned from the Rajya Sabha on 12 February weeks ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections.
Trivedi, who represented West Bengal in Rajya Sabha for the third time and was a former railway minister, announced his resignation in the house during a debate on the Union Budget, saying he cannot speak about the violence in his state.
Trivedi also said that he was forced to make a decision, and had to follow his "conscience" after looking at "the kind of violence taking place in his state" of West Bengal and that he would continue to work for "Bengal and the country."
Trivedi, who has been with the TMC since 1998, was both Union Minister for Railways and Union Minister for State for Health and Family Welfare, a member of parliament from Barrackpore, and then a member of the Rajya Sabha.
Trivedi had spent less than a year in the Rajya Sabha, after being sent to the upper house in March last year, months after he lost the Lok Sabha election, as a two term incumbent, to Arjun Singh in the Barrackpore seat in 2019.
West Bengal will vote in eight phases starting 27 March to 29 April, the results of which will be announced on 2 May.
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