A delegation of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by the party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday and strongly opposed the claim made by 20 rebel party MPs regarding their merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). The delegation included senior TMC leaders Kalyan Banerjee, Derek O'Brien, Mahua Moitra and Sougata Roy. During the meeting, the party urged the Speaker to reject the merger claim and initiate disqualification proceedings against the rebel lawmakers under the anti-defection provisions of the Constitution.
TMC submits 20 disqualification petitions
Following the meeting, Abhishek Banerjee said he had submitted 20 separate petitions seeking the disqualification of the rebel MPs, arguing that their actions amounted to voluntarily giving up membership of the Trinamool Congress. "We hope the Lok Sabha Speaker will deliver justice to us," he said. According to the TMC leader, elected representatives cannot independently merge themselves into another political party and continue to retain their membership in the House. He maintained that the actions of the rebel MPs were unconstitutional and warranted immediate action.
Abhishek questions NCPI merger claim
Banerjee also questioned the legitimacy and circumstances surrounding the rebels' association with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). "Twenty people met the Speaker and claimed that they should be treated as a separate party. Later, we came to know that these MPs claimed to have joined another party, NCPI. No one has heard of this party. Even they themselves had not heard of this party," he said.
TMC cites Tenth Schedule of Constitution
Explaining the party's legal position, Banerjee referred to the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, which contains provisions related to defection by elected representatives. He argued that any member who voluntarily gives up membership of the party on whose ticket they were elected becomes liable for disqualification.
According to Banerjee, if MPs were elected under the TMC symbol and later claimed affiliation with another political party, they could not continue to enjoy the protections available to members of their original party.
He further contended that the constitutional provision relating to a merger by two-thirds of members applies to the political party as a whole and not merely to its legislative wing. "On this basis, as the leader of the TMC in the Lok Sabha, I have submitted 20 separate disqualification petitions against those MPs," he said.
Speaker invited TMC to present its position
The development comes after Speaker Om Birla invited Abhishek Banerjee, as the leader of the TMC in the Lok Sabha, to present the party's position on the matter. The invitation was extended before a decision is taken on the demand made by the 20 rebel MPs, who have sought recognition as a separate group following their claimed merger with NCPI. Last week, Banerjee had written to the Speaker urging him not to grant any recognition, status or parliamentary facilities to any group claiming to be a separate faction of the All India Trinamool Congress.
