High political drama unfolded during the Centre's all-party meeting on Sunday ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, as MPs from the INDIA bloc staged a walkout over the government's decision to provide separate seating to a group of rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs.
The Opposition leaders later returned to the meeting, clarifying that their walkout was intended as a symbolic protest.
Convened by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju at the Parliament Annexe, the meeting brought together floor leaders of major political parties to discuss the government's legislative agenda and key issues expected to be taken up during the Monsoon Session.
The controversy arose after the government invited representatives of the Nationalist Congress of Progressive India (NCPI), a group consisting of around 20 rebel TMC MPs, and allocated them a separate table during the meeting.
The issue gained significance because Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has not formally recognised the rebel MPs as a separate parliamentary party. According to sources, the separate seating arrangement was made after the rebel MPs requested not to be seated alongside members of the Trinamool Congress.
Although the precise reason for the walkout was not officially stated, Opposition leaders objected to the government's decision to accord separate status to the rebel group despite the absence of formal recognition by the Speaker.
Explaining the protest, TMC MP Mahua Moitra said that all INDIA bloc parties—including the Congress, Samajwadi Party, DMK, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Aam Aadmi Party, National Conference, Left parties, and Shiv Sena (UBT)—had collectively walked out in protest against the participation of what she described as the "so-called NCPI," an unrecognised group.
Moitra argued that the merger involving the 20 rebel MPs had not been approved by the Speaker and that disqualification petitions against them remained pending. Referring to the 91st Constitutional Amendment, she maintained that there was no legal provision for a separate bloc under the present circumstances. She questioned the basis on which the Parliamentary Affairs Minister had invited the rebel MPs and allowed them to participate independently in the meeting, adding that the Opposition's walkout was a collective expression of protest.
Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said his party had walked out to uphold constitutional principles, alleging that extending recognition to the rebel group before the Speaker's decision was unconstitutional.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant also criticised the government's move, questioning the legal basis for granting the rebel MPs a separate identity and stating that his party had joined the protest by walking out.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP N.D. Gupta drew a comparison with his party's own internal dispute, alleging that seven of the AAP's ten Rajya Sabha MPs had been "hijacked" while the matter was still pending adjudication. He claimed that they too had been allotted separate seating in the Rajya Sabha, describing the development as a "hijack and murder of democracy."
Among the Opposition leaders present at the meeting were Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, CPI(M)'s John Brittas, Samajwadi Party's Dharmendra Yadav, TMC leaders Saugata Roy, Mahua Moitra and Mahua Maji, Congress MPs Pramod Tiwari, K. Suresh and Gaurav Gogoi, RSP leader N.K. Premachandran, NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule, JD(U)'s Sanjay Jha, DMK's Tiruchi Siva, and Shiv Sena leaders Shrikant Shinde and Arvind Sawant.
The government was represented by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Health Minister J.P. Nadda, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal.
The all-party meeting was convened to build consensus ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, which is expected to witness intense debates on several contentious political and legislative issues.
