New Delhi, June 16: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will seek the views of both factions of the Trinamool Congress before deciding whether to recognise the breakaway group formed by rebel MPs.
Sources said the Speaker’s office has sent an email to the faction led by Mamata Banerjee seeking its response on the developments.
The decision on recognition is expected before the Monsoon Session of Parliament, which usually begins in the third week of July.
Parliamentary sources said the Speaker may also seek legal opinion on the rebel MPs’ proposal to gain recognition after a planned merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India.
Officials indicated that the Union Law Ministry may provide written legal advice after consultations with senior legal authorities. The move aims to ensure that any decision can withstand judicial review if challenged.
Former Lok Sabha Secretary General and constitutional expert PDT Achary said Paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule allows mergers between political parties, not independent mergers by MPs or MLAs.
He explained that legislators may support a merger only after their parent political party formally decides to merge.
Meanwhile, a former Election Commission official described the proposed merger plan as an unusual political move with no direct reference in the anti defection law or the Representation of the People Act.
The political developments intensified after rebel MPs met the Speaker and sought separate seating arrangements in the Lok Sabha.
Rebel MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar claimed that 20 MPs signed the representation submitted to the Speaker. She stated that more than two thirds of TMC MPs supported the move and announced plans to merge with the Nationalist Citizens Party while extending support to the NDA.
The Nationalist Citizens Party of India was registered in January 2023 and currently has limited presence in national politics.
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