Abhishek Banerjee objects to rebel TMC MP’s parliamentary panel chair post

Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee has lodged a formal objection to the selection of his fellow party member, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, to chair a parliamentary committee. Banerjee claims Dastidar is part of a group of 20 TMC MPs facing disqualification proceedings under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. In a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla dated September 23, Banerjee requested that members with pending disqualification cases be excluded from consideration for Department-Related Standing Committee appointments.

Banerjee reiterated this request in his recent letter to Birla, stating that the party had formally nominated another member to retain the existing chairmanship. He argues the recent appointment disregards both the party's objections and their official nominee. Banerjee questions the party affiliation under which the chairmanship was assigned, noting the appointed member claims affiliation with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) through a merger disputed in pending disqualification proceedings.

He also raises concerns about the NCPI's reported association with the National Democratic Alliance, asserting that appointing a member with unresolved affiliation issues is contrary to parliamentary propriety. Banerjee urges the Speaker to withdraw Dastidar's appointment, restore the chairmanship to a TMC nominee, and promptly resolve the pending disqualification petitions.