Leader of MPs belonging to the rebel TMC camp, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, on Saturday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on a day his group was given approval
by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to sit separately from the parent party. In addition to this, Bandyopadhyay received an invitation from Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to participate in the all-party meeting on Sunday ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament. In fact, after the government recognised the rebel camp as NCPI during the crucial meeting today, the Opposition parties launched a symbolic protest and staged a walk out, stating that the merger of these so-called rebel 20 MPs has not been approved by the Speaker. "Today, the entire Opposition, including Congress, the Samajwadi Party, DMK, JMM, Aam Aadmi Party, National Conference, Left parties, Shiv Sena UBT have all walked out of the all-party meeting in protest because the so-called NCPI, which is an unrecognized party," TMC MP Mahua Moitra said, while speaking to the media.
TMC Rebels Joined NCPI
Following TMC's loss in the Assembly elections, 20 party MPs broke away from the party and joined a little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a registered unrecognised political party headquartered in Howrah, West Bengal, and sought a separate seating arrangement. They have urged the Speaker to recognise their merger with the NCPI.On July 14, Bandyopadhyay and her colleague Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar met the Lok Sabha Speaker and conveyed that he will be the floor leader of the group and Ghosh Dastidar will be the chief whip.
On Saturday, the Speaker decided that the TMC rebel groups of 20 MPs will be seated separately, away from the parent party. The rebel group also expressed their allegiance to the Narendra Modi government and expressed their desire to join the ruling NDA.
The monsoon session of Parliament will begin on July 20 and will continue till August 13.
(With agency inputs)
