Kolkata, June 19: Abhishek Banerjee, the General Secretary of the Trinamool Congress, led a delegation of four MPs (three from Lok Sabha and one from Rajya Sabha) to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday. They demanded the disqualification of 20 rebel MPs who recently joined the National Citizens Party of India (NCPI) from Tripura.
After the meeting, Banerjee, who is also the nephew of former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, informed reporters that he and the other members of the delegation submitted 20 separate petitions demanding the disqualification of the rebel MPs.
He raised questions about how these MPs could independently decide to merge with NCPI after being elected as Trinamool candidates while still remaining members of Lok Sabha.
Banerjee stated that their actions are unconstitutional and require immediate action. He suggested that if they have issues with Trinamool, they should resign from the party and also step down as Lok Sabha members, facing new elections in accordance with democratic principles.
He further claimed that during the meeting, the Trinamool delegation argued that under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, any elected representative who voluntarily leaves the party under whose ticket they were elected automatically becomes disqualified.
Banerjee added that they also informed the Speaker that the provisions regarding mergers involving two-thirds of members apply to any political party as a whole, not just its legislative or parliamentary wing.
Recently, 20 rebel Lok Sabha members from Trinamool, led by four-time MLA Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Shatabdi Roy, revolted. Initially, they decided to remain rebels within the Trinamool majority party in Lok Sabha, but announced their joining of NCPI earlier this month.
Currently, Trinamool has 27 members in Lok Sabha. The Basirhat seat in North 24 Parganas district has been vacant since the death of Trinamool MP Haji Sheikh Noorul Islam in September 2024, just months after his election.
Leave a Comment