New Delhi, June 12 -- With several lawmakers leaving the Trinamool Congress, the party is facing an existential crisis. Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra insists that it is a good purification, and all rumours of the TMC dying is just the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s wishful thinking. She spoke to HT soon after news came of her colleague Sushmita Dev resigning. Edited excerpts: People are free. It's a free country. She was in the Congress. She left the Congress and came to us. We gave her a Rajya Sabha (seat), not once, but twice. And for whatever reason... she'll have to answer to that, as to why she's gone. They have 16, they have been claiming that they have 20. If they really had 20, I'm sure there would have been a letter out, there would have been signatures out, there would have been a joint press conference. I can categorically tell you that they don't have 20 MPs. For (the) anti-defection (law) not to apply, two thirds of not the legislative party, but the political party has to move away. And not only move away, they have to merge with the BJP. So a) you have to have two- thirds, not even 19, two-thirds of the political party, which they don't have. b) Even if they did have 20, what would it get them? That you can sit aside (from the TMC). Apart from sitting aside, there is no room for any separate faction or block to be recognized in the Lok Sabha or in the Assembly. In some ways, we're actually happy because the shuddhi karan, the cleansing, is happening. Mamata Di, for all her instincts, for all her leadership, is a deeply emotional person with a great deal of affection and long-lasting loyalties. So a lot of these completely useless, rude people who have ridden on Mamata Di's tails for the past 15 years... she should have cut them away. Did Abhishek Banerjee get that first ticket in 2014 because he was Mamata Banerjee's nephew? Yes, he did. But has he since then been elected thrice, been National General Secretary of our party and done organizational work for the party, traversed the state, built up an organization? Yes, he has. He's been there 12 years. He's paid his dues. I could have been a cynic. He's much younger than me. I've accepted him as a National General Secretary. I could have been a rebel and done what Suvendu did. Suvendu said I want to be the next person in command. As long as Abhishek is there, I will not get that spot. Hence, I will part ways. I will go to BJP. There's a certain amount of, clean, transparent way of doing that. I respect that. I have respect for Suvendu. I have a very good personal equation with him, which has never got spoilt. I have not been in touch with him since he left but he's put his money where his mouth is. So why don't any of these people? If any of these 60 MLAs had a problem with Abhishek, why did they not quit the party before 2026 elections, join the BJP and win on a BJP ticket?...