Former Congress MP Sushmita Dev quits party, joins TMC

Ground Report | New Delhi: Former Congress MP Sushmita Dev has resigned from the party. Congress sources said that Sushmita, who was serving as the president of the All India Mahila Congress, sent her resignation to party chief Sonia Gandhi on August 15.

Sushmita made no mention of the reason for leaving the party in her resignation letter, though she thanked Sonia Gandhi and the party leadership for the guidance and support she had received as she resigned from the primary membership of the Congress.

She said, 'I hope your best wishes will be with me when I am going to start a new chapter in my life of public service.' After leaving the Congress, Sushmita joined the party in the presence of Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee in Kolkata on Monday afternoon.

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Former Congress MP Sushmita Dev

The Trinamool Congress welcomed the former MP to join the party. Trinamool Congress wrote on its official Twitter handle, "We warmly welcome Sushmita Dev, former President of All India Mahila Congress, to our Trinamool family! Inspired by the Mamata regime, she joins us today in the presence of our National General Secretary Abhishek and Parliamentary Party Leader in Rajya Sabha Derek O'Brien."

After joining Trinamool, Sushmita tweeted with the hashtag 'khela hobe', 'Mamata Banerjee, thank you.' She has been a Lok Sabha member from Silchar in Assam. Some sources close to her had already told that she may join TMC.

After resigning from Congress, Sushmita changed some information related to her profile on her Twitter account. She has written 'Former Member of Congress' and 'Former President of All India Mahila Congress' in her profile.

Sushmita Dev's father Santosh Mohan Dev was a senior Congress leader and was also a minister at the Centre. He has been an MP for seven times. He had represented Silchar from Assam five times and Tripura twice.

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Ripun Bora requested her to withdraw resignation

Dev was among Congress leaders whose Twitter handle was shut down for a post showing pictures of the parents of a nine-year-old girl who was allegedly raped and murdered in Delhi. On Sushmita Dev's decision to leave the party, Congress MP Ripun Bora requested her to reconsider and withdraw her resignation.

He said, 'Sushmita Dev was a dedicated Congress leader, I never thought that she would take such a decision. We were like family. If he had anything against the party, he should have discussed it. I request him to reconsider his decision and withdraw his resignation.

On Sushmita's resignation, Congress's chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala wished her bright future and expressed hope that whatever step the former MP will take, she will take it thoughtfully.

"I tried to talk to Sushmita Dev but her phone was switched off," he told reporters. Sushmita Dev was a hardworking and talented worker. In such a situation, I hope that whatever decision she takes, she will take it thoughtfully. On behalf of the party, I wish him a bright future.

Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Monday raised questions about the working style of the Congress after Sushmita Dev quit the party and said that the party becomes ignorant even after knowing everything.

He tweeted, 'Sushmita Dev has resigned from the primary membership of our party. Young leaders leave while we 'bujurg' (old leaders) try to strengthen the party, then they are also held responsible for that. Sibal claimed that the party is unaware even after knowing everything.

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