Seat at the table for TMC rebels at all-party meeting, INDIA bloc MPs walk out
High drama unfolded at the Centre's all-party meeting ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament on Sunday as MPs from the INDIA bloc walked out
High drama unfolded at the Centre's all-party meeting ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament on Sunday as MPs from the INDIA bloc walked out of the meeting, amid a controversy over separate seating arrangements for rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs. The Opposition leaders, however, later rejoined the meeting, describing their walkout as a symbolic protest. 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. Read Full Story The Opposition's walkout came after the government invited representatives 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 development assumed significance as Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has not yet recognised the rebel MPs as a separate parliamentary party.
Sources said the rebels were given separate seating after they sought not to be seated alongside TMC MPs. While the exact trigger behind the walkout was not officially stated, Opposition leaders were understood to have objected to the government's decision to accord separate space to the rebel group despite the absence of formal recognition by the Speaker. Explaining the Opposition's protest, TMC MP Mahua Moitra said all INDIA bloc parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party, DMK, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Aam Aadmi Party, Conference, Left parties and Shiv Sena (UBT), had walked out in protest against the presence of the "so-called NCPI", which she described as an unrecognised party. "These so-called rebel 20 MPs, their 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 said. Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said his party walked out "to uphold the Constitution", alleging that extending recognition before a final decision by the Speaker was "completely unconstitutional". Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant also questioned the government's decision, asking under which legal provision the rebel MPs had been granted a separate identity. "We too have protested against it and walked out," he said. AAP Rajya Sabha MP ND Gupta drew parallels with his party's own dispute, claiming that seven of the AAP's 10 Rajya Sabha MPs had been 'hijacked' while the matter remained pending for adjudication. Despite that, he alleged, they had been allotted separate seating in the Rajya Sabha. "This is a mere hijack and murder of democracy," Gupta said.
The BriefWire