Stories
Mamata Banerjee Suffers Setback: TMC's Parliamentary Arithmetic Changes, Kirti Azad, Dola Sen Removed
- •TMC faces another setback after West Bengal election defeat, as its parliamentary arithmetic shifts.
- •Several TMC MPs have been removed from parliamentary Standing Committees, weakening the party's position.
- •Dola Sen was removed from the Standing Committee on Commerce, and Kirti Azad from the Standing Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers.
- •The defection of 20 Lok Sabha MPs led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar has reduced TMC's strength in Parliament.
- •TMC leadership calls the decision undemocratic, while BJP views it as a democratic process.
Key Questions Answered
Dola Sen and Kirti Azad were removed from their parliamentary committee chairmanships during the annual reorganization because TMC's parliamentary strength declined after 20 Lok Sabha MPs rebelled and merged with the National Citizen Party. With the rebel faction holding more MPs and supporting the NDA, priority was given to them, resulting in loyalist leaders losing their quota positions.
Senior BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi was appointed as the new chairman of the Standing Committee on Commerce, replacing TMC's Dola Sen.
TMC senior leaders Kunal Ghosh and Derek O'Brien strongly objected to the decision, calling it a violation of democratic norms to strip the official TMC of its rights while disqualification and merger decisions regarding the rebel MPs are still pending before the Lok Sabha Speaker. The party termed the move a central government conspiracy to suppress the opposition voice, while the BJP defended it as a standard democratic reorganization based on parliamentary strength.
