Suspended TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee questioned the ECI's delay in acting on a letter by rebel party MPs who joined NCP, warning of political ramifications. He also had a brief conversation with Congress' Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over party history.

Banerjee Questions ECI's Delay on Rebel MPs

Suspended Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee on Thursday questioned the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the delay in responding to a letter submitted by rebel TMC MPs who joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), saying that keeping the matter pending for long could have political ramifications.

Speaking to ANI, Banerjee said, "They (rebel TMC MPs who joined NCPI) did approach the Election Commission. They submitted a letter but there has been no reply from the Commission so far."

He said that the matter should be decided in a way that maintains public confidence. "Justice must be rooted in confidence; confidence should not be compromised. The matter has been left pending for so long," Banerjee said. "Granting them more time causes inconvenience, doesn't it? There is also a political ramification to this," he added.

Interaction with Priyanka Gandhi

Earlier in the day, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Kalyan Banerjee engaged in a conversation outside Makar Dwar over the political ties between the two parties. While Kalyan Banerjee was protesting outside Makar Dwar over the merger of TMC MPs with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), Priyanka Gandhi approached him and said, "You took them from Congress to TMC."

To this, Kalyan Banerjee replied, "Mamata Banerjee was thrown out of Congress in 1997." Priyanka Gandhi then said, "Rajiv Gandhi always promoted Mamata Banerjee," to which Banerjee agreed.

NCPI Leader Criticises Mamata Banerjee

Meanwhile, Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar criticised former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. "Even I saw on social media that lathi charge was done on teachers when they were protesting in West Bengal. Mamata Banerjee should give an answer to this as she was the then Chief Minister," Ghosh said. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)