Former Lok Sabha member Sushmita Dev, who abruptly ended her three-decade long association with the Congress to join the Trinamool Congress on Monday, said her decision was not driven by anger or negativity but what is ‘emerging’ nationally. Edited excerpts.
You were a part of of Rahul Gandhi’s core team, close to Ms. Sonia Gandhi; yet you decided to leave the Congress. Would it not be seen as a reflection on the leadership?
I am a small part of a party with a huge legacy. In my letter dated August 15, I believe I have made it crystal clear that they have done their very best for me. And although I didn't write state this, but I believe I have done my very best in any capacity that they had given me an opportunity to work. And I have thought it through. Whether it comes to my region, what is emerging for the future, I believe what I have done will not be counterproductive to anyone concerned.
But something would have prompted you to leave. Were you upset with someone or about something?
This decision is not motivated by anger, anxiety or any negative feeling. Sometimes, the situation doesn’t permit to explain myself to anybody. But I thought it through and my conscience is clear: I think I have made no ideological compromise. And I believe that as a very junior politician, what I see emerging nationally, I believe the decision I took that was also a factor. And beyond that, I don't think this is the time to speak further. I'm only 24 hours into a new party
You talked about how Abhishek Banerjee [Trinamool’s national general secretary] and Rahul Gandhi [former Congress chief] would work together. But there is also this view that Trinamool has taken away a talented leader of the Congress and this could affect Opposition unity?
Does the Congress Party not bring people from other parties? Every party does. So why should an issue like this impact such a greater and a bigger cause? I think all the leaders involved here, whether it's the Chief Minister of West Bengal or the Congress president, don’t you think that they are astute politicians to know that this cannot impact Opposition unity? I think to connect this with what is emerging in national politics is an oversimplification.
Many believe that the Bengal elections were a turning point, even for national politics. Going ahead, do you think Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool are better placed than the Congress or its leadership to take on the Narendra Modi government in 2024 polls?
I think it’s a fallacy to compare two parties or two leaders in this given situation. That would be derailing from the real purpose. I am repeatedly seeing that people on the streets want a change. And if any of us mean well, if any leader means well, any party right now means well, they must work together for this greater purpose.
India as a nation has been built over decades but is falling apart in the eyes of the people. And that is the larger picture. In this situation, it shouldn't be whose party is better, whose party is older or whose leader is stronger. We have to galvanize to put up that fight and that's what the nation expects from us.
What role do you see for yourself in the Trinamool?
I have to say that first I met Abhishek Banerjee and he gave me a lot of time, almost an hour. And thereafter I met Chief Minister of West Bengal, she gave me around half an hour, 45 minutes. It was a very free and frank interaction. I made it very clear that I haven't made this shift with a specific purpose in mind. Whether they have a specific purpose in mind, that will emerge in the next few days. But one thing we have agreed to is that whatever role they will give me and wherever they give me a role, I will have to come through.
I have also said that I have worked so hard in the three districts of Barak Valley [Assam] in my constituency and I would definitely not like to compromise on what I have built over 10 years and what my father has built over 40 years. And Mamata Di is a mass leader and she knows what it is to build cadre. Not for a moment did she ask me to abandon anything. She said you have come, relax, go back to Assam, go back to constituency, talk to your people. But obviously, if my leader understands how I feel and think, I also have to understand that I have to accept whatever is the vision of my leader.