Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday accepted the request of 20 rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs for separate seating in the Lok Sabha, marking the first formal parliamentary recognition of the group's break from the Mamata Banerjee-led party amid an escalating internal rift.
The decision comes after the dissident MPs, led by veteran parliamentarian Sudip Bandyopadhyay, sought separate seating arrangements following their exit from the TMC and their move to the newly formed National Citizens Party of India (NCPI).
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The 20 MPs had earlier informed the Speaker that they had joined the NCPI and requested recognition as a separate parliamentary group.
While their plea for formal recognition as an independent party in the Lok Sabha was under consideration, the Speaker has now approved their demand to be seated separately in the House.
Breakaway group seeks separate identity
The split in the TMC surfaced ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament after Sudip Bandyopadhyay and 19 other Lok Sabha MPs broke ranks with the party and joined the NCPI.
The development prompted Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to invite the group separately to the customary all-party meeting before the session.
In his communication to Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Rijiju acknowledged that the MPs had sought recognition from the Lok Sabha Speaker after joining the NCPI and invited them to participate in discussions on the government's legislative agenda. Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who has been nominated as the NCPI's Chief Whip, was also invited to attend the meeting.
TMC's internal turmoil deepens
The separate seating arrangement comes against the backdrop of a widening organisational crisis within the Trinamool Congress.
Besides the defection of 20 Lok Sabha MPs to the NCPI, three TMC Rajya Sabha members have also resigned from the party and joined the BJP, dealing another blow to the party's parliamentary strength.
The Monsoon Session, scheduled to run from July 20 to August 13, is expected to witness sharp political exchanges, with the Opposition preparing to raise several contentious issues.
The formal separation of the rebel TMC MPs in the Lok Sabha is likely to further reshape the Opposition's parliamentary dynamics during the session.
