Kolkata: Nationalist Citizens Party of India will continue as an ally of NDA, said Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya, soon after 20 TMC rebel MPs who crossed over to NCPI attended the NDA parliamentary meeting on Tuesday. Deflecting questions by the media on rumours of a formal merger of NCPI with BJP, Bhattacharya said the “process is complex”.At the meeting in the Parliament House Complex, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar was seen sitting in the front row, while Satabdi Roy sat in the second row behind PM Narendra Modi and Union defence minister Rajnath Singh. According to sources, a section of NDA allies raised questions about Ghosh Dastidar getting a seat in the first row near the PM’s seat.Speaking later, Bhattacharya said, “People of the country know that only the NDA govt led by Narendra Modi can bring development in the country and take the nation to greater heights. New faces are joining the NDA to be part of the mammoth exercise. NDA has also welcomed whoever wanted to join.”“It is true that they had contested polls on Trinamool’s symbol. But they were disillusioned with TMC’s functioning and found the party repulsive. They were forced to quit and that is TMC’s internal issue,” he added.Commenting on merger talks, Bhattacharya said, “There are rumours in politics and what happens on the ground is different. Kolkata is around 1,500 km away from Delhi and the journey is not very smooth. There are highs and lows on the way.”After the meeting, Ghosh Dastidar told the media, “NCPI is already registered with the Election Commission and we have given all the documents to the Speaker for our recognition. We have been recognised as a part of NDA. That’s why we were called to the meeting. Talks are on about our sitting arrangements and further recognition.”Saying that she had “never seen a meeting like this”, Ghosh Dastidar added, “Such meetings never took place before 2014. We are delighted to have been invited.”Tuesday’s meeting had given a lot of clarity about forthcoming bills, Roy said, adding, “The PM didn’t speak. Officials from the respective departments addressed the meeting and shared updates.” NCPI MPs had also spoken to the PM personally, Roy said.Another NCPI MP Saayoni Ghosh said, “It was our first meeting, and we are grateful that they included us in today’s meeting. It was a very informative platform, and we liked it.”
