New Delhi, June 16: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is reviewing the status of the 20 rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs and will make a decision after hearing both factions sources said on Tuesday.
According to sources, the Speaker's office has sent an email to the group of TMC MPs led by Mamata Banerjee, inviting them for a formal meeting. The Speaker is expected to take any decision regarding the rebel faction's request for a merger only after discussing the matter with the party's official leadership.
This follows a formal split in the party's Lok Sabha contingent, where 20 dissident MPs met the Speaker and submitted a letter requesting the merger of their group with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI).
Reacting sharply to the development, TMC MP Kirti Azad dismissed the move as "misleading" and "undemocratic," asserting that the party remains firmly under Mamata 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.
Azad further alleged that the rebel group is motivated by personal gain and is already riddled with internal conflict.
"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.
He questioned the legitimacy of the NCPI, claiming it lacks any parliamentary presence.
"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," Azad added.
A major political churn has gripped West Bengal politics as 20 Lok Sabha MPs of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) have merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) and extended support to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
This high-stakes manoeuvre, executed to navigate the complexities of the anti-defection law, has effectively realigned the strength of the TMC.
On June 14, the rebel faction, led by senior parliamentarian Sudip Bandyopadhyay, met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to submit a formal request for separate seating arrangements. By merging with the NCPI, the group claims to have bypassed the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. Under the anti-defection law, a merger is permissible if at least two-thirds of a legislative party joins another. With 20 MPs in their camp, the rebels assert they have comfortably exceeded this threshold.
The Nationalist Citizens Party of India, a Tripura-based party, has suddenly been into the national limelight. Despite its limited organisational footprint, the party has welcomed the influx of high-profile leaders, with national organising secretary Shantanu Dey stating that he is eager to see the party grow and work in alignment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision. (ANI)
