Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy on Wednesday said that party members who possess 'moral strength' will not resign from the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), even as the party grapples with a string of departures following its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly election. Roy's remarks came in response to the resignation of veteran four-time MP Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar from all organisational posts in the party.

Dastidar's Resignations and Roy's Response

Dr Ghosh Dastidar on Wednesday tendered her resignation from all organisational posts with immediate effect. She had earlier stepped down as Trinamool's organisational district President for Barasat. Notably, she has not yet resigned from her position as a Member of Parliament.

Roy dismissed the significance of her move, telling reporters: 'She (Dastidar) has been giving her resignation. This is a style. If she gives her resignation every day, it will be news in the media. It doesn't have any importance.'

On her incremental approach, Roy added: 'She is going step by step. However, it doesn't matter. The party (Trinamool) has lost the polls; during this time, those who possess moral strength will resist.'

Councillor Resignations and I-PAC Discontent

Addressing the broader wave of Trinamool councillor resignations, Roy said: 'Actually, some people don't have the morality. There is nothing to worry about.'

Roy also acknowledged widespread grievances within the party against political consultancy I-PAC, including his own. However, he was careful to draw a distinction: 'This matter is not related to the party. They should have told us earlier.' He maintained that no top-tier leader had resigned, and characterised the councillor departures as limited in number.

'According to me, Kakoli was close to (party supremo) Mamata Banerjee. No such top leader has resigned, and very few councillors have quit the party. I hope that no such incident will take place in the coming days,' he said.

TMC MPs at BJP-Led Meet in Kalyani

On reports of Trinamool MPs and MLAs attending a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led administrative meeting in Kalyani, Roy downplayed any political reading of the development. 'Our party has no such obstructions. The Chief Minister had invited them. There is no political significance to it,' he said.

BJP's Sharper Assessment

BJP MP Rahul Sinha characterised the resignations as an internal matter for the Trinamool, but offered a far bleaker prognosis for the party. 'Except for party chief Mamata Banerjee, no other leader will remain in the Trinamool,' he said. Sinha further claimed that TMC's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee 'will either migrate abroad or go to jail,' and that 'the entire party will be reduced to ruins.'

Sinha also pointed to the Trinamool's performance in the Falta Assembly constituency repoll, saying: 'Despite having ruled for 15 years, Trinamool Congress came fourth in the Falta repoll.'

Border Infiltration Remarks

Separately, Roy addressed questions about illegal infiltrators who had gathered at Bengal's Hakimpur border, asserting that it is the Border Security Force (BSF)'s responsibility to intercept them. 'The Trinamool Congress government had nothing to do with it. If infiltrators are detected in Hakimpur, they will be deported,' he said.

With the West Bengal election result having delivered a significant blow to the Trinamool, the coming weeks will test whether the party's internal fault lines deepen or stabilise under Mamata Banerjee's leadership.