The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has asked the Lok Sabha Secretariat not to nominate 20 of its rebel MPs to parliamentary committees, citing ongoing disqualification proceedings against the lawmakers.

TMC’s Lok Sabha leader Abhishek Banerjee has made the request as the process of reconstituting several parliamentary committees gets underway. The committees are periodically reshuffled, with political parties asked to recommend lawmakers for membership of different standing and consultative panels.

According to a senior TMC functionary, the Lok Sabha Secretariat had approached Banerjee as part of the routine process of seeking nominations for the 24 department-related standing committees. In response, Banerjee requested that the 20 MPs who have broken away from the TMC and joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) not be included in the new panels while the disqualification proceedings against them remain pending.

TMC cites pending disqualification proceedings

The dispute over committee membership is linked to a larger political and legal disagreement concerning the status of the 20 lawmakers.

The MPs had announced their decision to leave the TMC and join the NCPI in June. The group includes several prominent names, including former TMC Lok Sabha floor leader Sudip Bandopadhyay, former party chief whip Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and deputy leader Shatabdi Ray. Film personalities such as Deepak Adhikari, Shayoni Ghosh and June Maliah are also among the lawmakers identified with the rebel group.

Other MPs named in connection with the group include Arup Chakraborty, Partha Bhowmik, former cricketer Yusuf Pathan, Sharmila Sarkar, Mala Ray, former footballer Prasun Chakraborty, Asit Mal, Khalilur Rehman, Abu Taher Khan, Jagadish Basunia, Kalipada Saren, Mitali Bag and Rachana Banerjee.

The rebel faction has not received formal recognition as a separate parliamentary group. Despite the political realignment, the Lok Sabha’s records continue to list the TMC with 28 MPs, while Abhishek Banerjee remains the party’s floor leader in the House.

Parliamentary committee reshuffle

The latest dispute has emerged during the annual restructuring of parliamentary committees. Membership of standing and consultative committees is generally allocated after parties submit recommendations, with the Speaker and other authorities overseeing the formal process.

Committee membership can change because of vacancies, retirements, ministerial appointments or other changes in the composition of the House. The current restructuring has therefore brought the status of the rebel MPs into focus at a time when their position within the TMC remains under dispute.

TMC’s request is based on the argument that the 20 MPs should not be given committee positions while petitions seeking their disqualification are still under consideration. The party has sought to use its continuing status in Lok Sabha records to prevent the rebel lawmakers from being nominated through the TMC quota.

Rebel MPs’ position remains under consideration

The central issue is whether the lawmakers’ decision to leave the TMC and align themselves with another political formation attracts disqualification under the anti-defection provisions.

The rebel MPs’ status has not yet resulted in a formal change to the Lok Sabha’s records, meaning the institutional position of the lawmakers remains different from the political position taken by the TMC.

The dispute over their committee membership is therefore connected to the unresolved question of their status as members of the House. Until the relevant proceedings are settled, questions surrounding their participation in parliamentary committees are likely to remain part of the broader dispute.

What happens if TMC does not nominate them?

Lok Sabha officials have indicated that committee membership cannot necessarily be blocked simply because a party chooses not to nominate some of its elected MPs.

The allocation of standing committee positions is based substantially on recommendations from political parties. However, if a party does not nominate its elected members, the Speaker can make a decision regarding their committee membership, according to a Lok Sabha functionary cited in the report.

This means the TMC’s request does not by itself determine whether the 20 lawmakers will ultimately become members of parliamentary panels. The final decision rests within the parliamentary procedure governing committee appointments.

The issue also highlights the distinction between a party’s internal political position and the formal status of elected members within Parliament. While the TMC has described the lawmakers as rebels and sought action against them, the Lok Sabha records continue to reflect the existing parliamentary composition until the relevant proceedings produce a formal outcome.

Broader implications for parliamentary functioning

The committee dispute comes at a time of significant political realignment involving the TMC’s Lok Sabha contingent. The participation of lawmakers in standing committees is an important part of parliamentary functioning, as these panels examine legislation, government departments and policy-related matters in greater detail.

For the TMC, the issue is also tied to the pending disqualification proceedings against the 20 MPs. For the Lok Sabha Secretariat, the question involves applying parliamentary rules governing committee membership while the lawmakers’ formal status remains under consideration.

The immediate outcome will depend on how the parliamentary authorities handle the nominations and the pending proceedings. Until then, the 20 MPs remain listed in the House’s records as TMC members, even as they have publicly aligned themselves with the NCPI.