New Delhi: A day before the commencement of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, the Centre-convened all-party meeting on Sunday witnessed a brief walkout by Opposition parties over the government's decision to invite the National Congress Party of India (NCPI), a grouping of rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs whose status remains under dispute.
The meeting was held at the Parliament Annexe building ahead of the Monsoon Session, which begins on July 20.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the Opposition's walkout was a symbolic protest against the Centre's decision to invite the NCPI despite the Speaker yet to decide on the status of the 20 rebel TMC MPs. In a post on social media, he said the NCPI had been given recognition even though the matter remained pending before the Speaker.
TMC MP Mahua Moitra said the entire Opposition, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party, DMK, JMM, Aam Aadmi Party, National Conference, Left parties and Shiv Sena (UBT), participated in the protest. She alleged that the NCPI was an unrecognised party and questioned the basis on which its members had been invited to the meeting when disqualification petitions against the 20 rebel MPs were still pending.
Moitra argued that following the 91st Constitutional Amendment, there was no provision for a separate bloc of legislators in such circumstances. She said the Opposition had registered its strong objection before staging the walkout and thanked all participating parties for standing together.
Congress MP Pramod Tiwari described the protest as an effort to uphold the Constitution, saying extending recognition before a final decision by the Speaker was unconstitutional.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant also questioned the legal basis for granting affiliation to the rebel MPs, saying no such provision existed in law.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP N.D. Gupta drew parallels with his party's own dispute, alleging that seven of the party's 10 Rajya Sabha MPs had been "hijacked" while a petition regarding their status was still pending. He claimed separate seating had nevertheless been allotted to them in the House, calling it "a hijack and murder of democracy."
The brief walkout underscored growing friction between the ruling NDA and the Opposition ahead of what is expected to be a politically charged Monsoon Session.
