A major split widened within the Trinamool Congress on Sunday as 20 rebel Lok Sabha MPs moved to merge with the NCPI and sought a separate bloc in Parliament, even as the party leadership challenged the legitimacy of the breakaway group.
After meeting Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, rebel MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said the group, comprising more than two-thirds of TMC's Lok Sabha strength, had submitted a representation seeking separate recognition.
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"Two-thirds of TMC MPs have given a letter to the Speaker for a separate seating arrangement. We will merge with the Nationalist Citizens Party and support the NDA," she told reporters.
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The NCPI is a Tripura-based registered unrecognised political party. According to the dissident camp, the Speaker verified the signatures of all 20 MPs backing the move.
Senior rebel leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay said the faction would also seek legal recognition as the "real TMC" and stake claim to the party's election symbol.
"Court will decide later who is the real TMC. We met the Speaker and gave him our request. We will have a separate block in the next Lok Sabha session," he said.
Meanwhile, TMC parliamentary party leader Abhishek Banerjee urged the Speaker not to recognise any separate faction, arguing that the Constitution and anti-defection law do not permit parallel groups within a political party.
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Citing the Supreme Court's ruling in the Maharashtra political crisis case, he maintained that the "split" defence no longer exists under the Tenth Schedule.
The battle for control of the TMC is also playing out in West Bengal, where 64 of the party's 80 MLAs recently broke away and secured recognition as a separate legislative formation, a move currently under challenge before the Calcutta High Court.
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