Ram Gopal Yadav slams rebel TMC MPs: 'Mamata picked them from garbage'
Synopsis
Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav has delivered a stinging rebuke of the 20 rebel Trinamool MPs who defected to the NCPI, saying Mamata Banerjee 'picked them from garbage.' With rebel MP Satabdi Roy now signalling NDA alignment and the split spanning both the West Bengal assembly and Parliament, TMC faces one of its gravest internal crises since losing the state elections.
Key Takeaways
SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav on 15 June attacked the 20 rebel TMC MPs who joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) .
Yadav alleged those Mamata Banerjee elevated from obscurity are now betraying her.
He also accused the BJP of 'weakening the Constitution and working towards dividing the country.' Rebel MP Satabdi Roy confirmed the group intends to align with the NDA , calling the move still in 'very early stages.' The dissident bloc claims support from more than 20 Lok Sabha members, extending the split from the state legislature to Parliament.
TMC has called the NCPI merger 'ridiculous' and accused the rebels of undermining party unity.
Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav on Monday, 15 June launched a sharp attack on the 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs who have defected to the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), accusing them of betraying West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who he claimed had elevated them from obscurity.
'The people whom Mamata Banerjee picked up from garbage and made ministers, MLAs, and MPs are now betraying her,' Yadav said.
BJP in the crosshairs too
Yadav did not stop at criticising the rebel MPs. He turned his fire on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging the party's actions go beyond electoral politics and pose a structural threat to the country's democratic framework.
'The Bharatiya Janata Party is not eliminating regional parties; it is weakening the Constitution and working towards dividing the country,' he said.
Rebel bloc inches toward NDA
The dissident Trinamool faction appears to be gravitating toward the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Rebel MP Satabdi Roy, who returned to Kolkata after a series of meetings in New Delhi, acknowledged the group's direction while noting it is still in its formative phase.
'We are still in the very early stages,' Roy said, while making clear that alignment with the NDA is the intended political destination.
Scale of the split
What began as a fracture in the West Bengal state assembly — where a section of Trinamool Congress (TMC) legislators broke from the official party fold — has now spread to Parliament. The dissident bloc claims support from more than 20 Lok Sabha members, significantly deepening the crisis for the party. This comes soon after TMC lost the state assembly elections, making the rebellion one of the most serious internal challenges in the party's recent history.
TMC hits back
Trinamool Congress has dismissed the rebel MPs' merger with the NCPI as 'ridiculous', accusing the breakaway group of undermining party unity. The NCPI is a relatively obscure outfit that has broadly aligned itself with the NDA's political agenda while maintaining a separate organisational identity.
With the rebel bloc's trajectory now pointing firmly toward the ruling alliance, the coming weeks will test whether Mamata Banerjee can contain the haemorrhage or whether the split deepens further at both the state and national level.
Point of View
If it holds, would hand the ruling alliance a significant symbolic scalp: a chunk of parliamentary seats peeled away from the opposition's most combative regional leader. The deeper question mainstream coverage is missing is structural — whether the NCPI is a genuine new formation or a temporary vehicle for a BJP-facilitated absorption, and what that means for how anti-defection law is being interpreted in practice.
NationPress
2 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Ram Gopal Yadav say about the rebel TMC MPs?
SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav said those whom Mamata Banerjee 'picked up from garbage and made ministers, MLAs, and MPs are now betraying her.' He made the remarks on 15 June in reference to the 20 rebel Trinamool MPs who joined the NCPI.
Who are the rebel TMC MPs and which party did they join?
The rebel group comprises more than 20 Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha members who have merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a relatively obscure party broadly aligned with the BJP-led NDA. The split originated in the West Bengal assembly and has since expanded to Parliament.
Is the rebel TMC bloc joining the BJP or the NDA?
Rebel MP Satabdi Roy has indicated the group intends to align with the NDA in the future, though she described the process as still in 'very early stages.' The NCPI, which the rebels have merged with, has generally positioned itself as supportive of the NDA's political agenda.
How has Trinamool Congress responded to the rebellion?
TMC has dismissed the rebel MPs' merger with the NCPI as 'ridiculous' and accused the breakaway group of undermining party unity. The party has not publicly detailed any legal or disciplinary action under anti-defection provisions.
Why is this rebellion significant for Mamata Banerjee?
The split is considered one of the most serious internal challenges TMC has faced, arriving soon after the party lost the West Bengal assembly elections. The defection now spans both the state legislature and Parliament, amplifying pressure on Mamata Banerjee's leadership.
