Babul Supriyo joined the Trinamool Congress on September 18. File
Former Union Minister Babul Supriyo today claimed that he has sought an appointment with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to submit his resignation as MP but has not heard anything from his office.
In a series of tweets, the Asansol MP claimed he has confirmed about his parting ways with the BJP and was waiting for the Speaker to give him time.
"Have parted ways with @BJP4India & had confirmed long before that, unlike many others who hold on to their MP seat inspite of changing Parties, I am not going to do so & shall resign as soon as Hon'ble Speaker Sir grants me his time. Attaching proof of vacating my Bunglow," he said.
The MP, who joined the Trinamool recently, also said his Lok Sabha colleague and senior politician Sougata Ray has also requested the Speaker to respond in the matter.
Mr Supriyo, reacting to reports that claimed he had never called the Office of the Speaker for an appointment after announcing his decision to resign, tweeted a letter he wrote to Mr Birla on September 20 seeking time.
"With due respect to the High Office of Hon'ble Speaker Shri @ombirlakota I very humble present the official letter I sent on the 20th of Sept which also bears a 'Received' acknowledgment from Hon'ble Sir's office. A separate request for the same was made by Shri @SaugataRoyMP too," Mr Supriyo tweeted.
He also said that both he and Trinamool's Rajya Sabha member Derek O'Brien were in touch with the Speaker's office on the issue on a daily basis.
"I also personally spoke to his OSD since I had to leave for Kolkata. It's disappointing that a completely unnecessary controversy has cropped up about this," he said.
Sources said that the Lok Sabha Secretariat maintained that the letter sent by Mr Supriyo did not mention that he sought time to resign.
In fact, the letter tweeted by Mr Supriyo also did not say that he wished to meet with the Speaker about his resignation.
Sources in Lok Sabha Secretariat said Lok Sabha Speaker regularly meets MPs even without prior appointments. The Speaker's office doors are always open for MPs, they said.
The singer-turned-politician began his political career by joining the BJP in 2014 when he won the Lok Sabha elections from Asansol and repeated his performance in 2019.
Mr Supriyo held many portfolios as the minister of state in multiple ministries till he was dropped in the first reshuffle of the Narendra Modi government in July.
Mr Supriyo surprised many by going to Kolkata and joining the Trinamool Congress on September 18, weeks after he publicly claimed that he was quitting politics.