A day after singer-turned-politician Babul Supriyo defected to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) from the BJP, he took to Twitter to justify his political decision. Supriyo joined the Mamata Banerjee-led party in presence of senior TMC leaders Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien, and has been widely criticised by BJP supporters for this sudden move, as he had announced that he is quitting politics.
Columnist and Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta had expressed his disappointment over Babul Supriyo’s sudden change of heart. While calling him an ‘asset’ to the BJP, Dasgupta had thanked Supriyo for his service to the party. “For those of us for whom BJP is a lifelong commitment, the fight goes on—even in adverse circumstances,” he had remarked.
https://twitter.com/swapan55/status/1439439628738523136?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwOn Sunday (September 19), the BJP leader had stated that the party workers are angry at the singer’s defection to the rival TMC. He added that ordinary citizens are disgusted by his decision. “Learning to digest adversity & having patience is part of politics. Sadly, Babul was in a tearing hurry. He may end up damaging his own image,” Swapan Dasgupta concluded. However, Babul Supriyo was quick to defend his position by claiming that he did not do anything unusual.
Babul Supriyo justifies his decision to join TMC
The erstwhile singer conceded that the BJP workers are angry at him but also added that he too was angry at the BJP leadership. “It was expected and is fair too. I accept it. But what about this same Babul publicly protesting against inducting outsiders into BJP? Did BJP do good to its image then? Please ask the same supporters who were sidelined by these outsiders.”
https://twitter.com/SuPriyoBabul/status/1439496797630521353?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwHe claimed that he was not the first to switch sides and thus did not create a historical precedent in this process. To rationalise his decision, Babul Supriyo said that all those ‘rivals’ from the Trinamool Congress that defected to the BJP were given top posts. “Well, then all the ‘Rivals’ who joined BJP, were embraced & made to sit on top posts ignoring all those ‘real’ BJP grass-root fighters shud be dumped cuz they may have all spoiled their images(like u said I did) tarnishing BJP’s image. Right?” he asked.
https://twitter.com/SuPriyoBabul/status/1439496800054878208?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwEarlier on July 31, Supriyo announced his premature retirement from electoral politics. He said that he was leaving politics, and also resigning from parliament. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) from the Asansol constituency and was the Minister of State for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change before he was dropped from the Union Ministry.
Babul Supriyo clarified that he did not want to give a false impression about his decision to quit politics. He urged everyone to not mistake his decision as a bargaining chip for a new Ministerial position. The Asansol MP, however, conceded that the loss of Ministership had influenced his decision but to a very small extent. He claimed that the infighting with the BJP Bengal unit not only weakened the party at the ‘ground zero’ but also demoralised the party workers. Later, on the insistence of the BJP leadership, he did not resign from his post as Lok Sabha MP.