Opposition walks out of all-party meet after Centre invites TMC rebel faction

Opposition parties on Sunday walked out of an all-party meeting called by the Centre in protest against the Union government’s decision to extend an invitation to the rebel faction of the Trinamool Congress, whose 20 MPs have announced their intention to merge with the Tripura-based Nationalist Citizens Party of India.

The all-party meeting was called ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, which will begin on Monday.

The entire Opposition, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Aam Aadmi Party, National Conference, Left parties and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), walked out of the meeting in protest, ANI quoted TMC MP Mahua Moitra as saying.

Moitra told the reporters that the strength of the Trinamool Congress in the list provided by the table office is shown to be 28 members and the merger of the 20 rebel MPs with the NCPI has not been approved by the speaker.

Thanking all the Opposition parties for their support, Moitra noted that the petitions submitted by the TMC for the disqualification of the 20 MPs are still pending.

“After the 91st amendment, there is no room for a separate bloc. So on what grounds did the parliamentary affairs minister extend an invitation to these 20 rebel MPs and how are they attending this...

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