The Trinamool Congress has questioned the timing and fairness of an email from the Lok Sabha Secretariat to party leader Abhishek Banerjee, saying it arrived while he was being questioned by the Enforcement Directorate in the alleged “signature scam” and left him little opportunity to respond. The Secretariat’s message, which the party says landed in Banerjee’s inbox on Monday morning, gave him until 4 pm the same day to reply to a petition lodged by at least 19 Trinamool MPs seeking to break away. Trinamool sources say Banerjee was in the ED’s Kolkata office until about 11 pm on Monday and therefore “had no access to his e‑mail,” a point made by Kirti Azad in a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s office.
According to party officials and sources quoted by NDTV, the Secretariat’s action followed the rebel MPs’ petition to merge with the Bengal‑based Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a move that the sources say could be processed within a week. The 19 MPs — out of the party’s 28 in the Lok Sabha and including figures such as Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Satabdi Roy and Saayoni Ghosh — have asked to be recognised as separate from the Trinamool and to align with the BJP‑led coalition.
The number matters because it crosses the two‑thirds threshold required to avoid the anti‑defection law, meaning the rebels could retain their seats if they formally split. The group has also demanded alternate seating arrangements in the Lok Sabha ahead of the Monsoon Session, scheduled to run from July 21 to August 21.
Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of party chief Mamata Banerjee and the party’s No. 2, appeared defiant after the ED questioning. Late on Monday night he told reporters, “I will come again if they summon me, but we will not surrender even if they slit our throats,” a remark that underlines the high emotions inside the party amid legal pressure and political upheaval.
The episode exposes deeper factional strains following the Trinamool’s defeat to the BJP in the April–May election. Discontent has surfaced not only in Parliament but within the party’s state ranks: more than 60 of the party’s 80 MLAs have reportedly rallied under Ritabrata Banerjee, styling themselves the “real” Trinamool Congress. Veteran leader Kalyan Banerjee publicly attacked Abhishek’s style of leadership, saying his “arrogant attitude has destroyed the party” and issuing an ultimatum that boiled down to “it’s either Abhishek or me,” a demand that he said Mamata Banerjee must decide on.
Rebels have criticised Mamata Banerjee for losing touch with ground realities and allowing corruption to take root, charges echoed by some long‑standing allies. With the Lok Sabha and state units visibly fractured, the coming days — including any formal recognition of the NCPI merger and the approach of the Monsoon Session — will be crucial in determining whether the Trinamool holds together or faces a significant realignment.
Original Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/no-chance-to-reply-trinamool-protests-timing-of-email-to-abhishek-banerjee-11643047#publisher=newsstand
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Publish Date: 2026-06-16 13:54:00
