• Source:JND
HighLights
  1. Opposition walked out of all-party meeting briefly.
  2. .Protested invitation to unrecognised rebel TMC MPs
  3. .Called it a "symbolic protest" and "miscarriage of justice."

High drama unfolded on Sunday after opposition leaders briefly walked out of an all-party meeting convened in Delhi ahead of the Monsoon session, objecting to an invitation extended to the rebel Trinamool Congress MPs. The chaos began after the MPs from the INDIA bloc left the meeting over separate seating arrangements for rebel Trinamool Congress MPs. However, the leaders returned to the meeting, describing their walkout as a symbolic protest.

Several TMC leaders, including Sougato Roy and Mohua Moitra, objected to the move, seeking answers to how a party that is not even recognised by the Speaker gets an invitation for the meeting. CPM leader John Brittas called the invitation to rebel TMC MPs to an all-party meeting "a miscarriage of justice."

ALSO READ: 3 Ex-TMC MPs Elected Unopposed To Rajya Sabha On BJP Tickets Weeks After Quitting Mamata's Party

What Happened At The Meeting

The meeting, convened by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju at the Parliament Annexe, was attended by floor leaders of major political parties to discuss the government's legislative agenda and issues likely to dominate the upcoming session.

The Opposition leaders staged a "symbolic protest" after the government invited members of the Nationalist Congress of Progressive India (NCPI), a group comprising around 20 rebel TMC MPs, and allotted them a separate table at the meeting. The episode gained attention as Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has not yet recognised the rebel MPs as a separate parliamentary party. Reports said that the rebels were given separate seating after they sought not to be seated alongside TMC MPs.

Even as the exact reason behind the drama is yet to be stated, the rebel MP allegedly objected to the center's decision to provide separate space to the rebel group despite the absence of official recognition by the speaker.

'So-Called Rebel 20 MPs'

Reacting to the incident, TMC leader Mahua Moitra said, "Today, the entire opposition, including Congress, the Samajwadi Party, DMK, JMM, Aam Aadmi Party, National Conference, Left parties, and Shiv Sena UBT, have all walked out of the all-party meeting in protest because the so-called NCPI, which is an unrecognised party, has a strength of 28 members in the list provided by the table office, which is the strength of the All India Trinamool Congress."

"These so-called rebel 20 MPs, merger has not been approved by the Speaker. The 20 disqualification petitions are still pending. After the 91st amendment, there is no room for a separate bloc. So on what grounds did the parliamentary affairs minister extend an invitation to these 20 rebel MPs, and how are they attending this meeting? We have registered our strong protest and walked out as a symbol of our protest. And we thank all our opposition parties," Moitra added.

ALSO READ: Lok Sabha Speaker Approves Merger Of 6 Uddhav Sena MPs With Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena; NDA's Tally Strengthened

Kalyan Banerjee said the TMC has filed a petition seeking qualifications on grounds of defection before the Speaker. Now, without deciding the questions raised in the disqualification applications against the 20 persons. It was not expected that the recognition would be made by the Speaker..."

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh took to social media to explain the Opposition's decision. In a post on X, he said, "All opposition parties staged a walkout from the all-party meeting for a few minutes. This was a mark of protest against the decision of the Modi government to invite the NCPI, which is a parking place for 20 so-called 'rebel' TMC MPs when a final decision is still pending with the speaker.

 

 


Also In News