3 weeks ago
Rebel Trinamool MPs in limbo as Speaker delays ruling
A group of politicians in India left their political party after it lost an election.
The party they left is led by Mamata Banerjee, and it is called the Trinamool Congress.
To avoid getting in trouble for switching sides, the rebel politicians joined a much smaller party.
The rules say politicians cannot change parties easily, so Mamata Banerjee wants them to be removed from Parliament.
The person in charge of the lower house of Parliament, Speaker Om Birla, has not yet made a decision about what happens to them.
Some of the rebels want to join another big party, but that party is not sure it wants them.
People in their home areas are also unhappy, and one rebel politician was called a traitor.
There is also a disagreement about who gets to keep the party's name and symbol.
Everyone is waiting for the Speaker and the election officials to make their decisions.
Twenty of the 28 Trinamool Congress MPs split from Mamata Banerjee's party in mid-June after its West Bengal Assembly election defeat and merged with the Tripura-based Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI).
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has yet to rule on the rebel MPs' request for recognition as a separate parliamentary group, nearly two months after both factions wrote to him.
The Mamata Banerjee camp has urged both the Speaker and the Election Commission of India to disqualify the rebels under the anti-defection law and to reject their claim to the TMC name and symbol.
Three rebel MPs, including Abu Taher Khan, skipped the NDA parliamentary meeting on 4 August for the second time in two months, and Khan said he will not join the BJP.
BJP leaders appear reluctant to fully embrace the rebels, with West Bengal Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta warning against 'false friends,' while rebel MP Sayani Ghosh faced 'traitor' chants during a visit to Baruipur.
- Who
- Twenty rebel MPs of the Trinamool Congress led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, the Mamata Banerjee camp, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, and the Election Commission of India.
- What
- The Lok Sabha Speaker has delayed ruling on rebel TMC MPs' request to be recognized as a separate parliamentary group, while the Banerjee camp seeks their disqualification under the anti-defection law.
- Where
- New Delhi, in the Lok Sabha, involving politics connected to West Bengal.
- When
- The split occurred in mid-June, and the Speaker's ruling was still pending nearly two months after both factions wrote to him, as of early August.
- Why
- The rebels merged with the NCPI to avoid disqualification under the anti-defection law and support the BJP-led NDA, while the Banerjee faction contests their legitimacy.
Mamata Banerjee camp
Rebel faction and BJP
Anti-defection disqualification
Mamata Banerjee camp
The rebels violated the 10th Schedule of the Constitution and the TMC's own constitution, so they should be disqualified and not recognized as a separate group.
Rebel faction and BJP
The rebels claim the merger with the NCPI protects them under the anti-defection law and allows them to be recognized as a separate parliamentary group.
Claim to TMC name and symbol
Mamata Banerjee camp
Mamata Banerjee remains the legitimately elected TMC chairperson, so the rebel MLAs cannot elect Arup Roy as chairperson or claim the party's name and symbol.
Rebel faction and BJP
The rebel MLAs claim to be the 'real TMC' and have staked their own claim to the party's name and symbol with the Election Commission.
BJP embracing rebel MPs
Mamata Banerjee camp
Some rebel MPs want to join the BJP, arguing they now support the NDA and attend its parliamentary meetings.
Rebel faction and BJP
BJP leaders and rank-and-file are wary of 'false friends,' with Swapan Dasgupta warning against accepting the rebels, leaving their political future uncertain.
Key facts
- Rebel TMC MPs
- 20 of the 28 TMC parliamentarians
- Rebel TMC MLAs
- 60 of 80 legislators, led by Ritabrata Banerjee
- Party merged with
- Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI)
- Date rebels wrote to Speaker
- 14 June
- Date Banerjee camp wrote to Speaker
- 10 June
- NDA meeting skipped
- 4 August, by three rebel MPs
- Speaker's ruling
- Pending; Lok Sabha website still lists all 28 MPs as TMC MPs
- Election Commission action
- No decision yet on competing claims to TMC name and symbol
Quotes
Lok Sabha Secretariat source
An unnamed official from the Lok Sabha Secretariat
“I shed no tears for the TMC’s self-destruction. My only hope is that the political culture of the vandals does not start contaminating the West Bengal BJP.”
theprint.in
“No decision has been taken in the matter.”
theprint.in
Sources
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