KOLKATA: The West Bengal Legislative Assembly Secretariat on Tuesday night issued notices to 10 rebel Trinamool Congress MLAs, seeking clarification on why their membership should not be disqualified for alleged anti-party activities and violation of party discipline.
Among the 10 notices, two have been sent to the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Ritabrata Banerjee and former Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim.
The other eight MLAs are Akhrujjaman Ansari, Sandipan Saha, Arup Roy, Shiuli Saha, Sabina Yasmin, Biplab Mitra, Javed Khan, and Rathin Ghosh.
The notices have put the rebel TMC camp led by Ritabrata in a political and legal crisis ahead of the bypolls in the Nandigram and Rejinagar assembly constituencies scheduled for October 6. The Ritabrata faction has fielded candidates in both seats.
Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose has asked the MLAs to respond within seven days, according to sources in the Assembly.
The notices followed a disqualification petition filed by the Mamata Banerjee-led faction, turning the party's bitter power struggle into a formal proceeding.
The matter came to light late on Tuesday night, with Ansari confirming that he had received the notice. “We will discuss the matter within the party and respond accordingly on time,” he told the media.
The development came a day after veteran TMC MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay from Kolkata's Ballygunj constituency filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court on Monday. He sought the disqualification of Ritabrata and the nine other legislators under the anti-defection law.
Earlier, on July 7, Chattopadhyay had written to the assembly speaker seeking the disqualification of the 10 MLAs. He alleged that they had acted against the party's interests.
The appointment of the LoP is already pending before the Calcutta High Court. Chattopadhyay had challenged the assembly speaker's decision to recognise Ritabrata as LoP.
The notices have deepened the internal crisis in the TMC following its crushing defeat to the BJP in the Bengal assembly polls held in April. The factional battle has now reached the assembly's procedural framework, with the rival camps contesting their respective positions in the house.
The anti-defection proceedings stem from the election of Ritabrata as LoP, despite Mamata nominating Chattopadhyay for the post.
The rebel camp led by Ritabrata claims the support of a substantial majority of TMC legislators, with 65 of the party's 80 MLAs backing the faction.
The crisis has also spilt over into parliament. Around 20 Lok Sabha MPs aligned with the rebel camp have quit the party and joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), an ally of the BJP-led NDA.
The Lok Sabha secretariat has issued notices to the 20 rebel MPs on petitions seeking their disqualification under the anti-defection law. The notices followed the Supreme Court's decision to hear a plea seeking an expeditious decision by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on the disqualification petitions.
The rebel MLAs, however, have dismissed the move as politically motivated and described the assembly secretariat's notices as routine procedure.
The TMC name and its twin-flower-on-grass poll symbol are also the subject of a dispute before the Election Commission. Both factions have staked claims to the party's identity, symbol and organisational resources.
The Election Commission held discussions with both sides on Saturday. Its decision is awaited.