New Delhi: Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee will meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday evening to present his case on the split in the party and oppose the recognition of a rebel faction, sources said.
According to sources, Banerjee will meet Birla at 5 pm in the Speaker’s Parliament Chamber. The meeting comes after Birla invited the TMC Lok Sabha leader to present his views on the issue before a decision was made on a demand by 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs to recognise them as a separate group following their merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India.
On June 10, Banerjee wrote to the Speaker, urging him not to accord any recognition, status, or facility to any group claiming to be a separate faction of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), contending that the Constitution and the anti-defection law do not permit the formation of a separate group within an existing political party.
He had also sought an opportunity for the AITC to be heard before any decision was taken on such a claim. While the rebel MPs have already met the Speaker, Birla has decided to hear both sides before making a decision. Parliamentary sources have said the Speaker will decide the matter in accordance with the law and the rules governing the House.
