Kolkata: Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra’s sustained jibes at rebel MPs have prompted at least two of them — Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Satabdi Roy — to indicate they will pursue legal action against her for libel.The trigger was Moitra’s renewed mockery on Sunday of the National Citizens Party of India’s claims of being “pro-poor,” after 20 rebel Trinamool Lok Sabha MPs joined the Tripura-based outfit.“Introducing NCPI — the new party of the 20 MPs elected on Trinamool Congress symbols. Its FB page says ‘it helps the poor people of our society’. Really hope it manages to help these 20 not-so-poor traitors too,” she posted.Satabdi Roy told TOI: “We have decided to take legal action against those who are making allegations against us without any proof. We are in talks with our lawyers. Those who are making such allegations and accusing us, they too have a past and everyone knows their history.”Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar invoked the cash-for-query allegations against Moitra: “It was made clear that she had compromised her country’s security by giving a password to someone, violating India’s parliamentary norms. The people of this country know what she did and how much was involved. We have already more or less decided to initiate legal action against her.” Kakoli did not respond to calls from TOI.Roy also turned on the eight MPs who have remained loyal to Mamata Banerjee, alleging some had been in talks with Congress. “They have not managed to get enough importance in the other party or they have been told that they will not be taken into that party. So they are doing all this. A few senior MPs wanted to become ministers and were considering changing parties… But they have been denied,” she said.Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh declined to respond directly to Roy’s allegations but accused the rebel MPs of betraying their 2024 mandate. “In 2024 when they won, they won on an anti-BJP vote — a vote for Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool, not the BJP. Now they are pledging their support to the BJP-led NDA. Isn’t this a betrayal of the people’s mandate? If they had any issue with Trinamool, they could have resigned like their Rajya Sabha counterparts and sought re-election on a BJP or any other ticket,” he said.
