Babul Supriyo, MP and ex-BJP minister, joins TMC two months after losing portfolio in rejig

BJP MP and former minister Babul Supriyo joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Kolkata on Saturday in presence of the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien. “Today, in the presence of national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and RS MP Derek O’Brien, former Union Minister and sitting MP Babul Supriyo joined the Trinamool family,” the party said in a tweet.

Former Union Minister and ex-BJP MP Babul Supriyo formally joins Trinamool Congress (TMC). Supriyo had quit BJP following the recent Union Cabinet reshuffle. pic.twitter.com/Uc5uOU2Izx

— ANI (@ANI) September 18, 2021

Supriyo had quit BJP following the recent Union Cabinet reshuffle in July. Earlier on Saturday, the Ministry of Home Affairs reduced Supriyo’s security category from the ‘Z’ to ‘Y’ category. The reduction in security has been done on the basis of an internal threat perception report, reported News18. The Central Reserve Police Force, which is responsible to give security cover, has initiated the process of reduction of his guard. Last month, Supriyo had announced that he was quitting politics but was later persuaded against resigning as a Lok Sabha member even as the singer-turned-politician insisted that he would no longer be part of active politics. The MP from West Bengal’s Asansol, who had kicked off a political storm over his announcement to quit politics over Facebook, had said that he will refrain from indulging in political activities and will relinquish his security and accommodation in Delhi. With inputs from agencies