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Seventeen Rebel TMC MPs Plan to Join BJP in October
Twenty Trinamool Congress MPs joined a small political party in June.
Now, 17 of them say they will join the BJP in October.
Three others plan to support the BJP-led alliance without formally joining the BJP.
The MPs believe the anti-defection law will not punish them because most of their group is changing parties.
The Trinamool Congress disagrees and has asked the Lok Sabha Speaker to disqualify them.
The party says the law requires two-thirds of the whole political party, not just its MPs, to approve a merger.
The Speaker has allowed the rebel MPs to sit separately in Parliament.
The group has not yet been officially recognised as the Nationalist Citizens Party of India in the Lok Sabha.
Seventeen of 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs plan to join the Bharatiya Janata Party in October.
The MPs had merged with the Tripura-based Nationalist Citizens Party of India in June.
Three MPs—Abu Taher Khan, Khalilur Rahaman and Yusuf Pathan—will support the NDA without formally joining the BJP.
The rebel MPs say the move is protected by the anti-defection law because more than two-thirds of the group is switching.
The Trinamool Congress has petitioned Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to disqualify the MPs under the Constitution’s 10th Schedule.
- Who
- Seventeen of 20 rebel Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MPs, led publicly by Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia, plan to join the Bharatiya Janata Party; three others will support the NDA.
- What
- The rebel MPs are moving from their merger group with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India toward the BJP-led alliance.
- Where
- The dispute concerns the Lok Sabha and the wider political conflict in India, including Tripura-linked party politics.
- When
- The planned BJP move is expected before or after Durga Puja, from October 6 to October 10; the merger was announced in June.
- Why
- The rebels cite the two-thirds threshold in the anti-defection law, while the Trinamool Congress argues that the merger is invalid and warrants disqualification.
Trinamool Congress position
Rebel MPs and BJP-aligned position
Validity of the merger
Trinamool Congress position
The Trinamool Congress argues that a valid merger requires two-thirds of the political party, not merely two-thirds of its legislature party.
Rebel MPs and BJP-aligned position
The rebel MPs say that because more than two-thirds of the 20-member group is moving, the anti-defection law will not apply.
MP disqualification
Trinamool Congress position
The Trinamool Congress says MPs who voluntarily leave the party should be disqualified under the Constitution’s 10th Schedule.
Rebel MPs and BJP-aligned position
The rebel MPs are proceeding toward the BJP and say their group’s numbers protect them from disqualification.
Political alignment
Trinamool Congress position
The TMC is challenging the rebels’ move and their separate status in the Lok Sabha.
Rebel MPs and BJP-aligned position
Seventeen MPs plan to join the BJP, while three others will support the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance without formally joining.
Key facts
- Planned BJP move
- Seventeen of the 20 rebel MPs plan to join the BJP in October.
- Original TMC strength
- Twenty of the Trinamool Congress’s 28 Lok Sabha MPs announced the merger in June.
- Merger partner
- The MPs merged with the Tripura-based Nationalist Citizens Party of India.
- Exceptions
- Abu Taher Khan, Khalilur Rahaman and Yusuf Pathan will support the NDA without formally joining the BJP.
- Speaker’s action
- Om Birla allowed the rebel MPs to sit separately in the Lok Sabha, but the group remains unrecognised as the NCPI there.
- TMC challenge
- Abhishek Banerjee petitioned for disqualification under the Constitution’s 10th Schedule.
- Upper House change
- The TMC’s Rajya Sabha strength fell from 13 in May to nine after resignations and defections.
Quotes
Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia
Rebel Trinamool Congress leader and Cooch Behar MP
“Since more than two-thirds of the 20 members will be moving, the anti-defection law will not apply to us.”
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“We are 17 MPs going to the BJP together”
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Sources
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