New Delhi / Kolkatta : Trinamool Congress (TMC) is a single, indivisible political party, TMC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee said in a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla even as the rebel faction of the party, composed of at least 19 MPs, is set to meet the Speaker on Monday demanding a recognition for the rival bloc.
The letter was handed to the Speaker by MPs Kirti Azad and Sagarika Ghose on Sunday.
In the letter, Banerjee hit out at the rebel camp’s move to be recognised as a separate faction and said “no recognition of the nature” should be accorded.
“My attention has been drawn to news reports to the effect that certain members of the Lok Sabha belonging to the AITC have submitted, or propose to submit, a communication to your good office seeking to be recognised as a separate group or faction of the AITC, independent of the legislative party,” the letter read.
Citing the Supreme Court’s judgment in the Maharashtra political crisis case, the TMC leader argued a “split” is no longer available under the Tenth Schedule and that the legal framework identifies only one political party.
“The AITC is a single, indivisible political party… There is in law only one AITC, one Leader of the Party in the House, and one Whip, all of whom hold office by authority of the political party and its competent organisational authority. No member or set of members can, by their own volition, carve out a parallel “group” or “faction” of the same party and claim independent recognition within the House,” the letter added.
After the meeting with Speaker, Kirti Azad said the Supreme Court’s Constitution Bench made it clear that a split within a political party was impermissible.
“We came here to submit a letter in connection with this only and urge the Speaker to work under the constitutional framework and its legalities,” he told reporters.
The development comes amid growing internal rift within the TMC, with a rebel MPs, led by Kakoli Ghosh Dasdidar, has sought separate recognition in the Lok Sabha.
The rebel group is now preparing to meet Om Birla on Monday seeking to recognise them as a the “real TMC” and allow them to sit with alongside the ruling BJP-led NDA in the House.
The list of rebel MPs includes Bapi Haldar, Dr. Sharmila Sarkar, Prasun Bandyopadhyay, Jagadish Barma Basunia, Asit Kumar Mal, Arup Chakraborty, Rachna Banerjee, Saayoni Ghosh, Khalilur Rahaman, Abu Taher Khan, Yusuf Pathan, Mitali Bag, Mala Roy, Kalipada Soren, Deepak Adhikari, June Malia, and Partha Bhowmick.
