Mamata Banerjee’s legal battle over TMC identity reaches Supreme Court. (Img: Dynamite News)
New Delhi: Former West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee on Monday sought urgent listing before the Supreme Court of her challenge to the Election Commission of India’s interim decision freezing the use of the All India Trinamool Congress name and its reserved ‘Flowers & Grass’ symbol amid a dispute between rival factions.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned Banerjee’s plea before a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and sought an early hearing of the matter.
Sibal drew the Court’s attention to the urgency arising from the ECI’s decision to restrain both factions from using the party’s established name and symbol. He urged the Bench to take up the challenge expeditiously.
The Chief Justice observed that the rival faction would also have an opportunity to place its submissions before the Court and indicated that the matter would be considered for listing.
Banerjee has challenged the ECI’s decision to freeze the use of the ‘All India Trinamool Congress’ name and the ‘Flowers & Grass’ symbol pending adjudication of competing claims over the party.
The Commission’s order has been passed in the backdrop of a dispute between rival factions claiming the party’s organisational identity. The proceedings before the ECI concern the entitlement to the party’s recognised name and reserved election symbol under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
Pending a final determination of the dispute, the ECI has assigned alternative names and symbols to the rival factions for the forthcoming West Bengal Assembly by-elections.
The faction led by Banerjee has been allotted the name ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress,’ along with the ‘Football Player’ symbol. The rival faction has been assigned ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’ and the ‘Envelope’ symbol.
The interim arrangement does not constitute a final adjudication on entitlement to the original party name or the ‘Flowers & Grass’ symbol. Banerjee’s Supreme Court plea seeks judicial intervention against the ECI’s decision as the electoral contest approaches.
