In a curious gesture, a former Trinamool Congress leader did squats on stage moments after joining the BJP in Purbo Medinipur district on Thursday, describing the act as an attempt to "atone past sins" during his tenure with the ruling party.
Sushanta Pal, known to be a loyalist of TMC turncoat Suvendu Adhikari, suddenly started doing squats, stopping his speech midway after receiving the BJP flag during a rally at Pingla area.
"This is atonement for my sins when I was with the tyrant TMC, and had to follow whimsical and anti-people orders of the top leadership. I regret it now," the former vice-president of Kharagpur Number 2 Block of the party said.
Mr Pal claimed that the TMC did not allow free and fair panchayat elections in 2018, claiming that the local bodies were occupied by force "I joined the BJP because I was feeling trapped. I wanted to protest, but I couldn't since my voice was muffled."
BJP supporters at the event yelled "Jai Shri Ram" slogans while Mr Pal did squats on stage, but many onlookers were perplexed.
Ajit Maity, TMC's district unit president, stated, "Pal had been relieved of all duties four years prior. At the BJP's request, he is now engaging in "dramabaji" (theatrics)."
Previously, some TMC leaders in the area who were loyal to Mr Adhikari and held positions such as municipality chairman defected to the BJP.
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