Amidst the ongoing internal strife in Trinamool Congress (TMC), party leader Abhishek Banerjee has written a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker. In this he has clearly said that TMC is ‘united’ and no separate faction should be recognised. At the same time, the rebel MPs have met the Speaker and demanded arrangement for separate sitting in the House.
Abhishek Banerjee wrote a letter to the Speaker and said- TMC is one
Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary and parliamentary party leader Abhishek Banerjee has written a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. This letter has been written following reports that some MPs of the party may demand recognition of themselves as a “separate faction or camp”.
In this letter dated June 10, 2026, Abhishek Banerjee has clearly said that the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) is a “united and indivisible political party”. He also said that the legislative wing of the party in the Lok Sabha is a part of the main political party, not separate from it.
Addressing Speaker Om Birla, Banerjee made three special demands. First, his letter should be kept on record so that the claims of any other “group” or “camp” can be challenged. Secondly, AITC should be considered as a single party which can be represented only by its authorized leaders and whips. And thirdly, no status should be given to any “so-called separate group” and if any such application comes, the AITC should be given an opportunity to present its views before taking any decision.
Abhishek wrote in his letter, “I respectfully request you to:
(i) place this letter on record;
(ii) treat the AITC as a single political party in the House, represented only by its duly authorized leader and whip, and refuse to grant any recognition, status or facility to any purportedly separate faction or faction of the AITC; And
(iii) If you receive any letter of the nature mentioned above, give AITC an opportunity of being heard before taking any decision thereon. It is also respectfully submitted that AITC reserves all its rights under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution including initiating appropriate proceedings against any wrongful conduct.”
Banerjee has also mentioned in her letter the constitutional and legal framework related to such requests. He cited the Supreme Court judgment in Subhash Desai vs. Principal Secretary to the Governor of Maharashtra and Others (2023). He emphasized that after the 91st Constitutional Amendment, the defense of “break in the party” under the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law) has now legally ended. The law does not consider the dissolution of a political party as a “permissible event”, but instead views it as a potential disqualification. The full right to appoint the leader and whip in the House rests with the political party, not the legislative party.
“The combined effect of all this is that the relief sought – that is, recognition of AITC as a separate group or faction – is unconscionable and unacceptable in the eyes of law,” the letter said. Banerjee further argued that even if an attempt is made to merge, two conditions will have to be fulfilled: first, the political party itself should merge and second, two-thirds of the legislative party members should change parties.
Rebel MPs asked for separate seating arrangement
Meanwhile, rebel Trinamool Congress MPs Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Shatabdi Roy and others reached the residence of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in the national capital on Sunday. He demanded arrangement for separate sitting in the House amid the ongoing tussle within the party.
Earlier in the day, some rebel TMC MPs had reached the house of Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav. Rebel TMC MPs Sayani Ghosh, Mala Roy, Shatabdi Roy, Arup Chakraborty and Kakoli Ghosh met Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav in the national capital. Similarly, in Kolkata too, TMC leaders Gautam Deb and Chandrima Bhattacharya reached the residence of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and consulted her.
How big is the political crisis?
Suspended TMC leader Riju Dutta said that the number of MPs in his camp can go up to 22. He said that he would support the BJP-led NDA.
All this is happening amid the ongoing political crisis within the Trinamool Congress, where 58 MLAs in West Bengal led by expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee and 20 MPs in the Lok Sabha led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar have rebelled against the party. Three Rajya Sabha MPs – Sukhendu Shekhar Ray, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Baraik – have also resigned from their upper house and party memberships.