TMC rebellion: MPs meet Speaker, demand separate seating arrangement

Rebel TMC MPs, including Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Sudip Bandyopadhyay, met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla demanding separate seating. The MPs also met Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, with their camp claiming support of up to 22 MPs for the NDA.

Rebel TMC MPs Demand Separate Seating, Meet Union Minister

Rebel Trinamool Congress MPs Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Satabdi Roy, and others on Sunday arrived at the residence of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in the national capital to demand a separate sitting arrangement in the House amid the ongoing rift within the party Earlier in the day, some rebel TMC MPs reached the house of Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav.

Rebel TMC MPs Saayoni Ghosh, Mala Roy, Satabdi Roy, Arup Chakraborty, and Kakoli Ghosh met with Union Minister Bhupender Yadav in the national capital. Similarly, consultations also took place in Kolkata with TMC leaders Gautam Deb and Chandrima Bhattacharya reaching the residence of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee.

Rebel Camp Claims Support for NDA

Suspended TMC leader Riju Dutta said the number of MPs in their camp could go up to 22. He said they will support the BJP-led NDA. "The rebel MPs are heading to Delhi today. Kakoli Ghosh spoke in the morning, and two more MPs will likely join them, taking the number from 20 to 22. On Monday, all rebel MPs will meet the Speaker, and in the Assembly, they may propose having a separate Leader of Opposition. I have spoken to some of them personally, they said they will support the NDA," he said.

TMC Cites Anti-Defection Law Against Rebels

Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose hit out at the rebels and said there is no legal provision under the anti-defection law for a "separate group" to function inside the House while continuing to hold seats won on a party's symbol.

In a post on X, Ghose said an MP or MLA can avoid disqualification only in the case of a formal merger between political parties, and even then, only under specific conditions.

"An MP or MLA will lose their seat or be disqualified under the anti-defection law unless their original political party merges with another party; and they either: Join the new/merged party, or Refuse to join the original merger. No legal provision of a 'separate group' inside Parliament or inside the assembly while sitting on an MP/ MLA seat previously won on the original party's name and symbol. The Law is clear. No 'separate group' inside the House on the same symbol is legal. Merge with a new party or be disqualified," she said. "Else your membership of the House - parliament or assembly - is illegal," she added.

Scope of the Political Crisis

The remarks come amidst the ongoing political crisis within the Trinamool Congress, where 58 MLAs under the leadership of expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee in West Bengal, and 20 MPs led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar in the Lok Sabha have rebelled against the party. Three Rajya Sabha MPs, including Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Baraik, have also resigned from their upper house and party membership.

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