20 Trinamool Congress MPs rebel!

• Demand to the Lok Sabha Speaker for recognition as an independent group!

• Express desire to join the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA)!

Kolkata – After the split in the Trinamool Congress legislative group in Bengal, now there has been a split in the parliamentary party as well. 20 MPs of Trinamool Congress have written to the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla demanding recognition as an independent group in Parliament. Along with this, they also expressed their intention to join the ruling National Democratic Alliance. The signatories include Arup Chakraborty, Partha Bhowmik, Shatabdi Roy, Jagdish Basunia, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Prasoon Banerjee, Kalipada Soren, Sharmila Sarkar, June Malia, Bapi Haldar, Asit Mal and Suvendu Shekhar Roy. A request has also been made to recognize Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar as the leader of the rebel group. Notably, the 20 rebel MPs also include Shatrughan Sinha and Kirti Azad, former BJP leaders who later joined Trinamool Congress.

The rebel members met at the residence of Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav before writing to the Lok Sabha Speaker seeking recognition for an independent group. Following this, Trinamool Congress MP Sukhendu Shekhar Roy met Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan, tendered his resignation from the Rajya Sabha and announced that he was quitting the party.