Golden moment that I was waiting for, says Dinesh Trivedi as he joins BJP

Former railway minister Dinesh Trivedi, who announced his resignation from West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the Rajya Sabha on February 12, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday weeks before the elections in the state.

BJP chief JP Nadda welcomed Trivedi into the party in the presence of Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Piyush Goyal. Nadda said Trivedi paid a price for his principles whether he was the railway minister or as a party member. “For principles, he quit the Rajya Sabha seat. He opted for idealism instead of opportunism,” Nadda said.

Leaders from other parties joining the BJP also show how people see it as a forum for serving the nation, Nadda said. “He met me about two months ago, and said he wanted to serve the party,” he said.

Watch | Dinesh Trivedi joins BJP ahead of Bengal polls, slams Trinamool

He called Trivedi a “sensitive and idealistic person. In the TMC, corruption, opportunism, and killing the democracy are enshrined; so, he quit and joined the BJP.”

Trivedi said this was a golden moment he had waited for. Without mentioning the TMC, he said for the party serving one family is above everything. “We are in social life because the country and people are above all... and from my experience, I say we have to work for the people. In the other party, they work for a family. I do not know if they serve the party. For me, the country is above all.” He lashed out at the West Bengal government for being unable to control corruption.

“I will be active in the election process, irrespective of whether I contest or not. Bengal has rejected the TMC. They want progress, not corruption or violence. They are ready for real change. Politics... is serious. She [West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee] forgot her ideals while playing,” he said when asked if he will contest the West Bengal polls.

The BJP hopes to wrest power from the TMC after emerging as the second biggest party in West Bengal after the 2019 national polls.

Trivedi, a former TMC general secretary and two-time Lok Sabha member from Barrackpore, earlier blamed the “humiliation” he suffered in the party for his resignation. He has also criticised TMC for the violence in West Bengal. He has also claimed that he did not agree with the TMC condemning the use of the slogan ‘Jai Shri Ram’.

In an interview with HT, Trivedi criticised the TMC for "abusing" Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others holding constitutional posts.

“Does it look good to start abusing all of them? And if I give a speech in Parliament, the leader of the party in RS [Rajya Sabha] tells [West Bengal chief minister] Mamata [Banerjee] that Dinesh Trivedi did not abuse the PM that I did not speak badly of the Home Minister. Are we here to abuse them? If there is something wrong with their policies, in a civilised manner, you debate,” he said.