With Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s decision awaited on the status of the Trinamool Congress in Parliament, the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee could not meet the Speaker Monday as he was being questioned by the Enforcement Directorate till late evening. Instead, TMC MP Kirti Azad met Birla and conveyed that Banerjee was unable to attend.
The development came amid a dispute within the TMC after a group of party MPs led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar approached the Speaker, claiming that they had merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a political party based in Tripura, and should be allowed to function as a separate bloc in Lok Sabha.
Banerjee opposing any recognition, status or facilities being granted to what he described as a “purported separate group or faction” of the All India Trinamool Congress.
A missed meeting
According to TMC sources, the Speaker’s office informed Banerjee on Monday afternoon that his request for a meeting had been accepted. However, since Banerjee was at the ED office in , he could not attend.
Azad wrote to Birla, saying he was informed by the Speaker’s office that an email had been sent to Abhishek Banerjee. He added that he contacted TMC floor leader Derek O’Brien. “He informed me that Abhishek Banerjee, who is committed to cooperating with all investigation agencies, is presently cooperating with the investigation at the ED office in the CGO complex, Kolkata.”
Azad told the Speaker that Banerjee did not have access to his email account during questioning by the ED. “When the interrogation concludes for the day, we undertake to inform him of the email he has received from you,” he wrote.
Tenth Schedule of the Constitution
Sources in the TMC said Azad met Birla around 3.30 pm Monday and conveyed the party’s position. Banerjee returned from the ED office around 11 pm, after which party leaders briefed him on the developments.
The dispute now hinges on whether the rebel MPs’ claim of merger can protect them from disqualification under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, which deals with defection.
Those in the rebel camp believe they will not be disqualified since more than two-thirds of the MPs — 20 of the party’s 28 lawmakers — have merged with another party.
However, the Mamata Banerjee faction believes the rebels will face disqualification and argues that the anti-defection law requires a broader “twin test” to establish whether a valid merger of the original political party has taken place.
