Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is reviewing the status of the 20 rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs and is expected to take a decision only after hearing both sides, sources said on Tuesday.
According to sources, the Speaker’s office has sent an email to the faction aligned with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, inviting it for a formal meeting. Any decision on the rebel MPs’ request for a merger is likely to be taken only after consultations with the party’s official leadership.
The development follows a split in the TMC’s Lok Sabha contingent after 20 dissident MPs met Birla and submitted a letter seeking the merger of their group with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI).
Reacting sharply, TMC MP Kirti Azad termed the move “misleading” and “undemocratic”, maintaining that the party remained firmly under Banerjee’s leadership. “Our letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker clearly states that the real TMC is that of Mamata Banerjee, because the political party is hers. The letter given (by 20 rebel TMC MPs) to the Speaker is misleading,” Azad told ANI.
Kirti Azad also alleged that the rebel faction was driven by personal ambition and was facing internal discord.
“There is a rebellion among the traitors (rebel TMC MPs) over who will become a minister (MoS). The party they have merged with has no representation in Parliament. It is an unrecognised and unregistered party. It has no identity. This is not democratic,” the TMC leader said.
Questioning the legitimacy of the NCPI, Azad added: “How can you merge with a party that has no presence? They are fighting amongst themselves for posts in a party that doesn't even exist on the parliamentary map.”
The political developments have triggered major churn in West Bengal, with 20 TMC Lok Sabha MPs announcing their merger with the NCPI and extending support to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The rebel faction, led by senior parliamentarian Sudip Bandyopadhyay, met the Speaker on June 14 seeking separate seating arrangements in the Lok Sabha.
By merging with the NCPI, the group claims to have navigated the provisions of the anti-defection law under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, which permits a merger if at least two-thirds of a legislative party joins another formation.
The dissident camp has argued that its strength of 20 MPs comfortably meets this requirement.
The NCPI, a Tripura-based political outfit with a limited organisational presence, has unexpectedly found itself in the national spotlight following the induction of senior parliamentarians. Its national organising secretary, Shantanu Dey, said the party was keen to expand and work in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision.
(With inputs from ANI)