'Masterminded by Amit Shah': Congress Attacks BJP Leader Over Merger of 20 TMC MPs with NCPI

India's Congress party has sharply criticized Union Home Minister Amit Shah, accusing him of masterminding the "illegal breakaway" of 20 Trinamool Congress (TMC) Members of Parliament who announced their merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI).

“

A desperate Union home minister – who is an absolute disgrace to the position once held by Sardar Patel – has taken Indian democracy to new lows in a shameless manner.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh described the move as "bizarre" and a calculated political strategy aimed at engineering a two-thirds majority for the ruling NDA coalition in the Lok Sabha. He alleged that Shah, whom he called "an absolute disgrace to the position once held by Sardar Patel," has "taken Indian democracy to new lows."

Ramesh further claimed the merger with the NCPI, a relatively new and reportedly unrecognized political outfit, was not incidental but orchestrated. He suggested the NCPI could eventually overshadow established NDA allies like the TDP and JD(U), which he believes should object to this "downgrade" achieved through "underhand tactics."

“

He has masterminded the illegal breakaway of 20 TMC MPs and their wholly questionable fusion with an unheard of and reportedly registered but unrecognised political outfit formed just three years back.

The merger, if formally approved, would significantly reduce the TMC's strength in the Lok Sabha from approximately 28 MPs to just 8. This development would weaken the opposition INDIA bloc's ability to challenge the BJP-led NDA in Parliament. While the NDA's Lok Sabha tally would increase, it would still fall short of the two-thirds majority mark, though it would narrow the gap considerably.

“

This bizarre move is part of the Union home minister's strategy to engineer a two-thirds majority for the NDA in the Lok Sabha.