Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, along with some party MPs, met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday to express their reservations over the merger announced by 20 rebel MPs.
After the meeting, Banerjee spoke at length and explained why he considered the merger “invalid”. A recurring reference in his argument was the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. “The 10th Schedule is against them, against these people who claim to have formed a separate group,” Banerjee told reporters while holding a copy of 20 different disqualification petitions he filed before the Lok Sabha Speaker.
Banerjee responded to the allegations of the rebel MPs on two grounds as he cited the Tenth Schedule:
- “A person should be excluded from the Lok Sabha as soon as he decides to join another party.”
- “A merger is only valid if two-thirds of the entire party merges with another party, not just members of the legislative party.”
Earlier this week, the 20 rebel TMC lawmakers told the Lok Sabha Speaker that they had merged with a little-known Tripura-based party called the National Citizens Party of India or NCPI. Following the move, Banerjee sought time with the Lok Sabha Speaker to present his side of matters.
As Banerjee quotes the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution as a rebuttal to the rebellious MPs, here’s a look at what the law says:
The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution sets out the anti-defection law, which was enacted to curb the practice of lawmakers often jumping ship to overthrow governments or for personal gain.
There are two key factors identified under the law, which were also mentioned in a previous HT report.
- A lawmaker can be disqualified if he voluntarily leaves his political party or votes against the party’s official direction in the legislature.
- However, paragraph 4 has an exception: disqualification will not apply if the original political party merges with another party, and at least two-thirds of the members of that party’s legislative group approve such a merger.
The second point was also cited by Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra before the rebels announced the merger. She said that the mere presence of a group of representatives does not automatically create a faction recognized under the anti-defection law.
Earlier, this law had a “split” exception that protected lawmakers if at least a third of party members defected. However, this provision was repealed in 2003 after it was widely abused.
Abhishek Banerjee seeks to disqualify the rebels
In his remarks on Friday, the TMC member sought the disqualification of rebellious MPs from the Lok Sabha, citing their desire to secede, elect a Lok Sabha leader, a chief whip, and demand separate seating arrangements.
“So if they are elected on the basis of a symbol and after two years they claim that they are joining a new party, their membership should go,” he said.
Read also: Former World Bank Secretary Jyotipriya Mallick resigns from her positions in the TMC; The mayor of Siliguri also resigns
He stressed that the rule of two-thirds of members merging with another party applies to the entire party, not just the legislative party. TMC MPs Saujata Roy, Kalyan Banerjee and Mahua Moitra also accompanied Abhishek to meet the Lok Sabha Speaker in the Parliament building.
