Thiruvananthapuram: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said he was not surprised by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s decision to allow separate seating for the 20 rebel TMC lawmakers, who have joined a little-known party, the NCPI.
Tharoor, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a book launch event, said the rebel Trinamool Congress MPs had the numbers, and it would therefore be difficult to deny their claim for separate seating.
At the same time, he said the parties concerned would be exploring all avenues, including “legal possibilities through the courts”.
“Yeah, I’m not surprised. I mean, they seem to have the numbers. If they have 20 out of 26, it’s very difficult for them to be denied their claim. But I’m sure that on some of these issues, the parties concerned will look at legal possibilities through the courts. So there will be all avenues explored,” he said.
The Congress MP said the TMC rebel MPs’ action was ultimately a “betrayal of the politics of principle”.
“You have been elected as a strong opposition; instead, you have chosen to be part of the ruling establishment. That is something which changes things,” he said.
Tharoor said the Parliament session should be a meaningful forum for the airing of views and serious discussions.
He said the central government was going to bring some “very major bills” that deserved serious examination, and many in the opposition were profoundly worried about the implications of some of the proposed legislations; therefore, it should be allowed to express its stand.
“We want to see them discussed. But the government has to cooperate, and it has to give the opposition its right to have its say, as well. There is this old saying that the opposition should have its say and the government will have its way, if they have the majority, and they seem to have the majority. But let the opposition also have its say. That’s very important,” the Congress MP said.
