MPs meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla
New Delhi: The political crisis within the Trinamool Congress (TMC) deepened on Sunday as a group of rebel MPs led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in New Delhi, seeking a separate sitting arrangement in the House.
The dissident lawmakers, including Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Satabdi Roy, arrived at the Speaker's residence amid growing divisions within the party.
Earlier in the day, several rebel TMC MPs, including Saayoni Ghosh, Mala Roy, Satabdi Roy, Arup Chakraborty, and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, met Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav in the national capital.
The meetings come as the rebel faction seeks to consolidate support and chart its future course amid the ongoing internal turmoil within the party.
Simultaneously, political consultations continued in Kolkata, with senior TMC leaders Gautam Deb and Chandrima Bhattacharya meeting party chief Mamata Banerjee.
The developments indicate intensified efforts by both sides as the crisis threatens to reshape the party's political landscape.
Suspended TMC leader Riju Dutta claimed that the number of MPs backing the rebel camp could rise from 20 to 22.
According to Dutta, the rebel MPs are scheduled to meet the Lok Sabha Speaker on Monday and may also push for separate recognition within legislative bodies. He further claimed that the dissident group is likely to extend support to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Responding to the rebellion, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose argued that there is no legal provision under the anti-defection law for a "separate group" to function within Parliament or state assemblies while retaining seats won on a party's symbol.
She maintained that elected representatives can avoid disqualification only under specific merger provisions outlined in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution and warned that any attempt to function as a separate bloc without a formal merger could invite legal consequences.
