With 20 rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs announcing their merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), the Congress on Monday alleged that Home Minister Amit Shah “masterminded” what it called an “illegal secession” of lawmakers as part of a broader plan to secure a two-thirds majority for the NDA in the Lok Sabha.
The opposition party described the move as “strange,” claiming that it was a calculated political strategy that had serious implications for the parliamentary balance.
Congress escalates its attack on Amit Shah
Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh launched a sharp attack on the Union Home Minister, accusing him of undermining democratic norms and constitutional values through development.
In a post on X, Ramesh said: “The desperate Union Home Minister – an absolute disgrace to the position once held by Sardar Patel – has shamefully taken Indian democracy to new lows.”
Ramesh further alleged that the merger of the rebel MPs was not accidental but was orchestrated.
“He masterminded the illegal secession of two dozen TMC MPs and their completely questionable merger with a previously unheard of, registered but unrecognized political outfit that was formed just three years ago,” the Congress leader said.
He added that the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) could emerge as an important component within the NDA, even outperforming entrenched allies like the TDP and JD(U), which he said should raise objections to what he called “downgrades” through “disingenuous tactics”.
“This bizarre move is part of the Union Home Minister’s strategy to engineer a two-thirds majority for the NDA in the Lok Sabha. Decency, decency and fidelity to constitutional values and principles remain vulnerable and threatened every day he continues in office,” the Congress leader said.
NCPI merger with TMC rebels
On Sunday, 20 MPs from the rebel TMC met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and announced their decision to merge with NCPI, a registered but unrecognized political outfit based in Tripura.
If the merger is formally approved, the TMC’s strength in the Lok Sabha will fall sharply from about 28 MPs to 8. In the Rajya Sabha, the number of party members has already reduced from 13 to 10 members.
For the NDA, the number of Lok Sabha seats will increase from 294 to 314 seats. However, this would leave the coalition 46 seats short of a two-thirds majority, although it would come within eight seats of that mark in the Senate.
The Congress’s concerns come as a decline in the TMC’s strength would significantly weaken the India bloc’s ability to challenge the BJP-led NDA in Parliament.
A BJP MP involved in the discussions told HT that NCPI was chosen to maintain the rebels’ political ties with West Bengal while also showing symbolic outreach towards the Northeast.
