Abhishek Banerjee had earlier written to Birla opposing any recognition, status or facilities being granted to what he described as a “purported separate group or faction” of the TMC. (ANI File Photo)With Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s decision awaited on the status of the Trinamool Congress in Parliament, the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee could not meet the Speaker Monday as he was being questioned by the Enforcement Directorate till late evening. Instead, TMC MP Kirti Azad met Birla and conveyed that Banerjee was unable to attend.The development came amid a dispute within the TMC after a group of party MPs led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar approached the Speaker, claiming that they had merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a political party based in Tripura, and should be allowed to function as a separate bloc in Lok Sabha.Banerjee had earlier written to Birla opposing any recognition, status or facilities being granted to what he described as a “purported separate group or faction” of the All India Trinamool Congress.A missed meetingAccording to TMC sources, the Speaker’s office informed Banerjee on Monday afternoon that his request for a meeting had been accepted. However, since Banerjee was at the ED office in Kolkata, he could not attend.Also Read | Et tu, Saayoni Ghosh? Mamata-Abhishek protégé deals Trinamool its worst blowAzad wrote to Birla, saying he was informed by the Speaker’s office that an email had been sent to Abhishek Banerjee. He added that he contacted TMC Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O’Brien. “He informed me that Abhishek Banerjee, who is committed to cooperating with all investigation agencies, is presently cooperating with the investigation at the ED office in the CGO complex, Kolkata.”Azad told the Speaker that Banerjee did not have access to his email account during questioning by the ED. “When the interrogation concludes for the day, we undertake to inform him of the email he has received from you,” he wrote.Tenth Schedule of the ConstitutionSources in the TMC said Azad met Birla around 3.30 pm Monday and conveyed the party’s position. Banerjee returned from the ED office around 11 pm, after which party leaders briefed him on the developments.Story continues below this adAlso Read | Ritabrata Banerjee eyes complete takeover of TMC: ‘Civic bodies, district units next’The dispute now hinges on whether the rebel MPs’ claim of merger can protect them from disqualification under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, which deals with defection.Those in the rebel camp believe they will not be disqualified since more than two-thirds of the MPs — 20 of the party’s 28 lawmakers — have merged with another party.However, the Mamata Banerjee faction believes the rebels will face disqualification and argues that the anti-defection law requires a broader “twin test” to establish whether a valid merger of the original political party has taken place.Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusing on religious minorities in India. A journalist for over eight years, Rehman moved to this role after covering Uttar Pradesh for five years for The Indian Express. During his time in Uttar Pradesh, he covered politics, crime, health, and human rights among other issues. He did extensive ground reports and covered the protests against the new citizenship law during which many were killed in the state. During the Covid pandemic, he did extensive ground reporting on the migration of workers from the metropolitan cities to villages in Uttar Pradesh. He has also covered some landmark litigations, including the Babri Masjid-Ram temple case and the ongoing Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute. Prior to that, he worked on The Indian Express national desk for three years where he was a copy editor. Rehman studied at La Martiniere, Lucknow and then went on to do a bachelor's degree in History from Ramjas College, Delhi University. He also has a Masters degree from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. ... Read More