The Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) on Sunday, 19 July publicly rebuked Opposition parties for walking out of the Centre-convened all-party meeting, calling the move unprecedented and unbecoming of parliamentary tradition. The protesting MPs, however, returned shortly afterwards and took part in the proceedings.

NCPI Leaders Call Walkout 'Ridiculous'

NCPI MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay, a parliamentarian since the 12th Lok Sabha, said he had attended over 100 all-party leaders' meetings across his career and had never witnessed an Opposition walkout of this kind. 'I thought they would go out permanently. But unfortunately, they came back,' he said.

Bandyopadhyay also outlined his party's standing within the ruling alliance: 'We have 20 MPs with us. It's the first time the NDA will have three Muslim MPs. Out of 20, we have more than one-third female MPs, and we are going to be the second-largest party in the NDA. So, we have our own stand.'

Fellow NCPI MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar was equally sharp in her assessment. 'This has never happened before, walking out of an all-party meeting. This is ridiculous,' she told reporters. She added that while democratic discussion is entirely appropriate, a walkout from such a forum 'does not suit them.'

Party Affirms Secular Credentials

Bandyopadhyay also underscored the NCPI's ideological positioning, stating: 'We are firm believers in the principles of secularism, communal harmony and unity of the country.' The remark came as the party highlighted its representation of Muslim MPs within the NDA — a politically significant detail ahead of what could be a charged parliamentary session.

20 West Bengal MPs Formally Merged into NCPI

Separately, the NCPI on Sunday issued a formal notice confirming the merger of 20 Members of Parliament from West Bengal into its fold. The notice named all 20 MPs: Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Satabdi Roy, Mala Roy, Mitali Bag, Partha Bhowmick, Adhikari Deepak Dev, Sharmila Sarkar, Sayoni Ghosh, Bapi Haldar, Kalipada Saren Kherwal, Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia, Prasun Banerjee, Arup Chakraborty, Asit Kumar Mal, Yusuf Pathan, June Maliah, Khalilur Rahaman, Md. Abu Taher Khan and Rachna Banerjee.

The party's notice stated: 'Their joining strengthens our collective resolve and commitment to public service. We firmly believe that our concerted efforts will substantially contribute to the process of nation-building.'

What This Means for NDA's Parliamentary Arithmetic

The formal induction of 20 MPs — more than one-third of them women and three of them Muslim — gives the NCPI a notable footprint within the NDA bloc. The party claims it will become the second-largest partner in the alliance, a positioning that carries both legislative and symbolic weight. This comes amid a broader realignment of regional forces within the ruling coalition, with West Bengal emerging as a key theatre of political consolidation ahead of future electoral contests.