Trinamool's disciplinary committee meeting postponed indefinitely amid internal rift

Kolkata, April 8 (IANS) The meeting of the Internal Disciplinary Committee of Trinamool Congress, which was scheduled for Tuesday to decide on MLAs not attending Assembly sessions, has been postponed for an indefinite period amid internal reift in the party.

The state Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, who heads the said committee, informed all concerned about the postponement of the meeting.

A member disciplinary committee and the chief whip of Trinamool Congress’s legislative party, Nirmal Ghosh, informed media persons that the meeting has been postponed for the time being.

“Next date and time will be informed soon,” he said.

Sources said that the meeting was postponed due to the internal rift involving four Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha members - Kalyan Banerjee, Kirti Azad, Mahua Moitra, and Saugata Roy.

“The differences between Kalyan Banerjee and Saugata Roy are a matter of concern. More likely, their rift was one of the reasons for indefinitely postponing the Disciplinary Committee meeting,” said a senior member of the state cabinet.

He added that the meeting of the Disciplinary Committee was about seeking an explanation from 30 MLAs, including a state minister, over their absence on the last day of the Budget session in the Assembly on March 20.

The Internal Disciplinary Committee had identified 30 MLAs, including Minister of State for Youth and Sports Affairs Department Manoj Tiwari, who were absent from House proceedings on March 20.

Trinamool Congress issued a whip making the presence of all MLAs mandatory on the last two days of the Budget session on March 19 and March 20. However, the whip did not apply to the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

--IANS

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