WB Assembly Secretariat Sends Notice To 10 Rebel TMC MLAs Over Disqualification Plea

The West Bengal Assembly Secretariat has issued notices to 10 MLAs aligned with the rebel TMC camp, seeking their replies within a week to a disqualification petition filed by the Mamata Banerjee-led faction that escalated the party's bitter power struggle into a formal proceeding.

The notices were issued to Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee and nine other legislators -- Arup Roy, Firhad Hakim, Sandipan Saha, Akhruzzaman Ansari, Shiuli Saha, Sabina Yasmin, Biplab Mitra, Javed Khan and Rathin Ghosh -- on Tuesday.

Assembly sources said they have been asked to respond within seven days.

The matter came to light late on Tuesday night with Ansari confirming the receipt of the notices. "We will discuss the matter within the party and respond accordingly on time," he said.

The development came a day after senior TMC MLA Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, the Mamata Banerjee-led faction's nominee for the leader of the opposition post in the Assembly, moved the Supreme Court seeking disqualification of Ritabrata Banerjee and the nine other legislators under the anti-defection law.

Chattopadhyay wrote to Assembly Speaker Rathin Bose on July 7, seeking the disqualification of the 10 MLAs, alleging that they had acted against the party's interests.

The issue of the leader of the opposition's appointment is already pending before the Calcutta High Court, where Chattopadhyay had challenged the Assembly Speaker's decision to recognise Ritabrata Banerjee to the post.

The notices have brought the increasingly bitter factional battle within the TMC directly into the Assembly's procedural framework, with the rival camps now contesting not only for the party's leadership but also the legitimacy of their respective positions in the House.

The anti-defection proceedings stem from developments following the election of Ritabrata Banerjee as leader of the opposition despite the Mamata Banerjee-led camp nominating Chattopadhyay for the post.

The rebel camp claims to command the support of a substantial majority of TMC legislators, with 65 of the party's 80 MLAs backing Ritabrata Banerjee's claim.

It subsequently elected Akhruzzaman Ansari as the chief whip and undertook a parallel organisational exercise, challenging the party leadership's authority.

The crisis followed the TMC's defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections in May.

The confrontation has also spilt over to Parliament, with 20 Lok Sabha MPs aligned with the rebel camp quitting the TMC and joining the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), which has aligned with the BJP-led NDA.

The Lok Sabha Secretariat has issued notices to the 20 rebel MPs on petitions seeking their disqualification under the anti-defection law.

The notices followed the Supreme Court's decision to hear a plea seeking an expeditious decision by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on the disqualification petitions.

The Mamata Banerjee-led camp has argued that the actions of the rebel legislators amount to defection and warrant disqualification from the Assembly.

Chattopadhyay's plea before the Supreme Court seeks action against Ritabrata Banerjee and the nine other MLAs, with TMC's legal team maintaining that the legislators should face consequences for acting in defiance of the party leadership.

Party leader and lawyer Kalyan Banerjee has said the plea seeks disqualification of the MLAs on grounds similar to those invoked in proceedings against rebel MPs.

The rebel camp, however, has dismissed the move as politically motivated and described the Assembly Secretariat's notices as routine procedure.

The Ritabrata Banerjee-aligned TMC camp's spokesperson Riju Dutta said, "The Speaker has sought the replies of the 10 MLAs as part of a routine procedure. There is nothing for the Mamata Banerjee camp TMC to celebrate..

He also took a swipe at the rival camp, saying those celebrating the development would have to wait only a few days before the situation became clear..

The TMC name and the twin-flower-on-grass poll symbol are locked in a dispute before the Election Commission as the rival camps have staked claims to the party's identity, symbol and organisational resources..

The Election Commission held discussions with both sides on Saturday, but its decision is awaited.

An MLA from the Mamata Banerjee camp, meanwhile, indicated that the selection of the 10 MLAs for the initial disqualification proceedings was deliberate.

He said the remaining legislators were being given "some time" to reconsider their position and return to the Mamata Banerjee camp, while warning that those who refuse to do so could face serious political consequences.