A host of celebrities from Kolkata’s film and sports fields have joined TMC in Dunlop on Wednesday in front of West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee.
The new joiners include director Raj Chakraborty, actor-director Sudeshna Roy, cricketer Manoj Tiwary and actors June Maliah, Kanchan Mallick, Manali Dey and Saayoni Ghosh. Apart from them Ananya Chakraborti, the chairperson of West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR) also joined the Party at Dunlop.
“I have to look beyond the game. BJP wanted me to join them but I picked Trinamool as I have an ideological difference with BJP. I am a very secular person,” said the cricketer Manoj Tiwary. Mamata Banerjee has been the biggest inspiration for him to join politics, he added.
“In 2016, I had attended 76 meetings to campaign for Trinamool. I have been a blind fan of Didi and want her to do a hattrick as the chief minister of Bengal. I knew I would someday join politics but the process got expedited because of the turncoats,” said the director Raj Chakraborty.
“I will always speak out against any wrong. That is irrespective of my political leanings. I am comparatively brave and still don’t regret my protest as an actor when ‘Bhobishyoter Bhoot’ had problems with screening. But I have never been a Left party member. There is no reason I will overlook all the good work done by Mamata Banerjee. When I was trolled by BJP supporters, she stood by me,” said Saayoni Ghosh.
According to Chakraborti, the WBCPCR has always been “neutral”. “But there comes a point in history when one has to take a position. This is the moment because Bengal is the last bastion and we have to defend it from the BJP,” said the chairperson.
Reacting to the allegations of celebs switching their sides because of lack of recognition and work, Roy said, “Ananya and I have seen that this government has always been there to facilitate work. This government has given us stability and worked for development”.
She also alleged BJP od playing “divisive politics”. “If BJP comes to power, my voice will be silenced. They have sold the country. They are not interested in development and are only keen on peddling lies,” added the actor-director Sudeshna Roy.
