Trinamool Congress MP Arpita Ghosh resigned from the Rajya Sabha and her resignation has been accepted by Chairman Venkaiah Naidu with effect from 15 October.
Ms. Ghosh had won the seat from West Bengal in April 2020 and had another five years of tenure left. Previously, she was a Lok Sabha member from Balurghat constituency in West Bengal. She is a theatre artist working as both director and actor.
The TMC was not forthcoming on the reasons for her resignation, though sources said she acted in accordance with the party’s wishes.
“Somebody has to vacate space to accommodate others,” a senior TMC functionary said.
Sources said she will be compensated with a party post. Her resignation has spurred speculation about who will replace her. There are many contenders in the queue including former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha who joined the TMC recently. The party has 12 members in the Upper House. A Congress rebel who recently joined the TMC has been nominated for the 13th berth.
Ms. Ghosh, who remains in the frontline of the protests in Rajya Sabha, was recently suspended from the House along with three of her colleagues. Ms. Ghosh and the others continued their protests outside the House.
At the end of the day, when they returned to pick up their bags, Ms Ghosh reportedly got into a scuffle with the security staff. She ended up breaking a glass pane. Parliamentary security officials lodged a complaint claiming that a woman officer was injured in the neck when glass shards hit her.
