Trinamool Lok Sabha leader Abhishek Banerjee on Friday submitted to Speaker Om Birla individual disqualification petitions on stamp papers against 20 rebel MPs who have sought a merger with the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party
of India.
Abhishek held up a copy of the Constitution before reporters outside Parliament following his hour-long meeting with the Speaker, who will decide on the merger.
The Trinamool leader iterated before Birla the stand he had taken in a letter to the Speaker on June 10.
“Clause 2(1)(a) of the Tenth Schedule clearly states that if a member voluntarily gives up the membership of their party, it becomes a ground for disqualification from the House…. Clause 4 says merger will only be accepted if two-thirds of the party merges, not just the legislature party…. Based on that, I, as leader of the TMC in the Lok Sabha, have submitted 20 different disqualification petitions,” Abhishek said.
Abhishek, also Trinamool’s national general secretary, was accompanied by Lok Sabha members Saugata Roy, Mahua Moitra and Kalyan Banerjee, and Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien.
Abhishek and Kalyan, a lawyer, submitted to Birla the files of “six or seven” court cases related to such defections. Abhishek emphasised that there was precedent of the Supreme Court ordering the Speaker to act on such matters within three months.
Abhishek told reporters that this was the first time in Indian parliamentary history that so many individual disqualification petitions had been filed at once.
“If an MP elected on aTrinamool Congress symbol joins another political party, that MP automatically ceases to remain a member of theTrinamool Congress and should face disqualification,” Abhishek said.
“One cannot simultaneously belong to two political parties. If someone elected on one party’s symbol later joins another party, their membership should be terminated immediately.”
He added: “A valid merger requires the support from two-thirds of the entire political organisation, including national committees, state committees, frontal organisations and party office-bearers.
“The public statements made by these MPs about joining another political party, along with their invalid merger claim, are sufficient grounds for disqualification from the House. We have requested the Speaker to adjudicate the matter at the earliest.”
Abhishek said the rebel MPs’ demand for separate seating arrangements, separate recognition, and a separate Lok Sabha leader, chief whip and deputy leader “cannot be entertained”.
“The question of separate recognition does not arise because they must first face disqualification proceedings. If these MPs have even a little integrity, they should resign from their seats and seek a fresh mandate from the people,” he added.
Birla is expected to seek legal opinion on the merger application from the rebels.
Asked if his party would also move court, Abhishek said: “We have left it to the judgement and wisdom of the Speaker. He has said he will hear the other side too and then call us again.... I hope the Lok Sabha Speaker will work as per the Constitution and not strangulate the Constitution.”
He added: “Several of them (rebel MPs) have been given central security. Let them take the security and go to their constituencies. There is no one there who is standing with them. They want to protect themselves from ED, CBI. Some of them are getting money and some others are being threatened. I have concrete proof of this. If any MP finds my words offensive, they should file a case against me; I will prove it before the court of law.”
Abhishek said the Shiv Sena had been “broken into two and the second half is being further broken for their own benefit”, appearing to refer to a BJP role.