After BJP’s offer to join, Dinesh Trivedi has a request

Former Trinamool Congress (TMC) lawmaker Dinesh Trivedi said on Saturday he was grateful to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for welcoming him into its fold and that it would be a 'privilege' to join. Trivedi' comments come a day after he resigned as the member of the Rajya Sabha on Friday during the debate on the Union Budget, saying he felt suffocated in the House since he was unable to do anything regarding the violence and unrest in West Bengal.

"I am very grateful to BJP and its senior leaders, I was told they have said that I am welcome. It would be a privilege, no question about it. But, let me settle down," Trivedi said, according to news agency ANI.

The BJP was quick to respond to Trivedi's resignation, with party's national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya saying that they would welcome him in the party and anyone who wanted to do honest work could not stay in the TMC. "Not just Dinesh Trivedi ji, whoever wants to do honest work, cannot stay in Trinamool Congress. If he wants to join the Bharatiya Janata Party, we will welcome him," Vijayvargiya said.

Vijayvargiya has been campaigning extensively in West Bengal along with senior leaders like JP Nadda, Union home minister Amit Shah and Dilip Ghosh for the state's upcoming assembly elections.

Trivedi also took a jibe at Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, saying that no one could hold their heads up high in an environment of fear. "If Mamata Banerjee, rightly says 'I want to keep my head up', she should know that everybody should keep their head up. If there is an environment of violence, then there is fear, so the head is not held high," he said as per ANI.

Trivedi joined a long list of TMC leaders, including Suvendu Adhikari and Rajib Bannerjee, who have left the ruling party ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections scheduled to be held in April-May this year, piling pressure on chief minister Mamata Banerjee. The BJP and ruling TMC are fighting for power in the state.