New Delhi, Jan 3 (PTI) Ahead of West Bengal assembly polls, Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Mausam Noor returned to the Congress on Saturday, saying she wants to carry forward the legacy of her uncle
and former party stalwart Ghani Khan Chaudhary.
Noor (46), whose tenure as Rajya Sabha MP ends in April, is likely to contest the upcoming assembly polls in West Bengal from Maldah.
She was a two-time Congress MP representing Maldaha Dakshin in the Lok Sabha from 2009 to 2019. She has also been a Youth Congress president in West Bengal.
Noor rejoined the Congress at the party headquarters in the presence of Jairam Ramesh, Congress in-charge for West Bengal, Ghulam Ahmed Mir, and the party's state unit president, Shubhankar Sarkar.
After joining the party, she said, "West Bengal needs a change. Let it begin with me. I have come without any conditions." She thanked the Congress for giving her the opportunity to work again in the party, saying "it is an honour for me".
"I am going to work very hard to strengthen the party because the people of Bengal, especially the people of Maldah, believe in the Congress and its ideology of secularism, development and peace," she said.
Noor said she has sent her resignation letter to Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee. "My resignation to the Rajya Sabha is ready and will be handed over on Monday," she said.
"I earlier worked to strengthen the Congress and want to do that again. It has been our family legacy and has been with the Congress. As a family, we have decided to strengthen our work for the Congress and carry forward the legacy of Ghani Khan Chaudhary," she told reporters when asked about her return.
Noting that her uncle and former Union minister Ghani Khan Chaudhary worked for the welfare of people of Maldah, Noor said she would strive and work very hard to strengthen the Congress.
Ramesh said Gani Khan Chaudhary was a towering pillar of the Congress, and Indira Gandhi held him in great respect. He described Ghani Khan as a staunch nationalist and a secular person.
Welcoming Noor into the party fold, he said, the people of West Bengal want the Congress to grow stronger. "We will continue to fight to fulfil their aspirations," Ramesh said.
On the ruling TMC's criticism that the Congress should not poach leaders of the INDIA Bloc, Ramesh said, "I am happy that some people are today remembering the INDIA bloc. They were hesitating about naming the INDIA Bloc."
Ghulam Ahmed Mir termed Mausam Noor's rejoining the Congress a joyous occasion for the party and the people of West Bengal.
"We have been in touch with Mausam Noor ji for quite some time, and we all welcome her to the party. The Congress is working with full strength in West Bengal. I am fully confident that with the arrival of Mausam Noor ji, the party will gain strength," he said.
Sarkar said the Congress is alive in West Bengal and will once again emerge as a strong force, as people of the state want to strengthen the party again. PTI SKC SKC NSD
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