New Delhi: Dissident Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs will meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday to seek recognition as the “real TMC”, rebel MP Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia said on Friday.
The Cooch Behar MP claimed that 19 Lok Sabha members are currently backing the breakaway faction and would be part of the move before the Speaker.
“On Monday, we will go to the Speaker, and we have made a claim regarding forming the real TMC vote group. We will ask the Speaker to give recognition to our claim,” Basunia told PTI Videos.
The timing of the meeting, however, has not yet been finalised.
Reacting to senior TMC leader Kalyan Banerjee’s remarks targeting Abhishek Banerjee, Basunia said, “He is saying the right thing. We support Kalyan ji’s statement.”
The TMC has been grappling with a deepening crisis since its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections, triggering a rebellion among a large section of its MLAs that subsequently spilled over into Parliament.
On Thursday, Kalyan Banerjee issued an ultimatum to party supremo Mamata Banerjee to choose between her nephew Abhishek Banerjee and veterans like him, accusing the party national general secretary of “arrogance” and “fluctuating mindset”.
“I will remain in this party only if Abhishek is removed from all leadership positions and retained only as an ordinary worker. Abhishek, who misbehaves with seniors and has the attitude of a boss, cannot be my leader in the party. I am sorry to say it will not be possible for me to remain in the TMC, if Didi (Mamata Banerjee) retains him as the leader,” Kalyan said.
“Didi must take the final call on whether she will retain her blood relative or workers like me, who have put in 40 years of our lives for her and this party,” he added.
