All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday, 3 October wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, formally objecting to the appointment of the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Chemicals and Fertilisers. The letter challenges the legitimacy of the appointment on grounds that the member in question faces a pending disqualification petition under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.

The Core Objection

Banerjee argued that the appointed member is among twenty Lok Sabha members against whom disqualification petitions are currently pending before the Speaker. In his letter, he stated: 'I write to object to the appointment of the Chairperson of the Committee on Chemicals and Fertilisers... The Member appointed is among the twenty members against whom disqualification petitions remain pending before you under the Tenth Schedule. In my letters dated September 23, 2026, I expressly requested that these Members be kept out of consideration for DRSC appointments until the petitions were decided.'

Banerjee further questioned under which party affiliation the chairmanship had been allotted, noting that the Digital Sansad website continues to list 28 Lok Sabha members as belonging to the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC). The appointed member, he said, claims affiliation with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) through a purported merger — a claim disputed in the very disqualification proceedings that remain unresolved.

The TMC-NCPI Split at the Heart of the Row

The dispute stems from a factional split within the TMC. Two Lok Sabha members from what Banerjee described as the 'original but minority' faction — aligned with former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee — were removed on Wednesday from their positions heading two Parliamentary Standing Committees. The rival faction has reportedly aligned itself with the NDA through the NCPI banner.

Banerjee contended that NCPI's reported association with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) cannot, by itself, resolve the question of party affiliation under the Tenth Schedule. 'That question requires a decision in the pending proceedings. Appointing a Member to a chairmanship while leaving the Member's disputed affiliation undecided is, in our submission, contrary to Parliamentary propriety,' he wrote.

What Abhishek Banerjee Has Demanded

The TMC MP has made three specific demands: withdrawal of the current appointment; restoration of the chairmanship to AITC's duly nominated member; and an early decision on the pending disqualification petitions. He also sought written answers to his questions on the basis of affiliation recognition.

'This appointment cannot be treated as a chairmanship allotted to AITC,' Banerjee stated, underlining that the appointment 'disregards both our objection and our nomination.'

Derek O'Brien Raises Broader Concern on Committee Reconstitution

Separately, TMC's Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien also wrote to the Lok Sabha Speaker on the reconstitution of Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees for 2026-27, published in Parliamentary Bulletin II on 3 October. O'Brien pointed out that out of eight Parliamentary Standing Committees under Rajya Sabha's jurisdiction, AITC has not been accorded the chairpersonship of even one.

'Are we turning Parliament into a deep, dark chamber,' O'Brien wrote, noting that in the Rajya Sabha, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the largest party, followed by the Congress as the second largest, and AITC as the third largest. He added that the party held a chairpersonship in 2024-25 and 2025-26, which has now been withdrawn — and drew a parallel to 2019, when AITC was similarly sidelined despite being the third-largest Rajya Sabha party before being reinstated years later.

What Happens Next

The Speaker's office has not publicly responded to either letter as of the time of reporting. The outcome of the pending disqualification petitions under the Tenth Schedule will likely determine the legitimacy of several Parliamentary appointments, making an early ruling increasingly consequential for both sides of the TMC split.