Trinamool Congress Disciplinary Panel Requests Leave Details from Assembly Speaker
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Synopsis
The Trinamool Congress disciplinary committee in West Bengal is investigating absent MLAs from the recent Budget Session and has requested leave application details from the Speaker's office, focusing on enforcing party whips.
Key Takeaways
- Disciplinary committee investigates MLAs' absences.
- Request for leave application details submitted to Speaker.
- Attendance was mandatory on specific days.
- Ignoring party whips can lead to serious consequences.
- Future actions will depend on findings from applications.
Kolkata, March 25 (NationPress) The disciplinary committee of the Trinamool Congress legislative party in the West Bengal Assembly is currently investigating the absence of party MLAs during the recently concluded Budget Session, where several legislators disregarded party whips. The committee has requested information regarding the leave applications submitted by these legislators to the Speaker’s office.
A source within the West Bengal Cabinet indicated that the decision to request this information was made during the committee's initial meeting on Monday.
“The whip mandated full attendance of party legislators in the Assembly on March 19 and March 20,” the source stated.
“Attendance was nearly complete on March 19; however, more than 50 legislators were absent on March 20.”
“Disregarding whips constitutes an offense and could lead to the cancellation of membership in the House, unless absences are justified through applications submitted to the Speaker’s office, clearly stating the reasons for absence or requesting leave in advance before the whip was issued.”
“Hence, the disciplinary committee has opted to obtain details of such applications from the Speaker’s office,” the Cabinet member explained.
The head of the disciplinary committee, Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, who is also the State Parliamentary Affairs Minister, confirmed this move to seek application details from the Speaker.
“MLAs cannot disregard party whips. Once we receive the details of these applications, we will determine the next steps,” he added.
The next meeting of the disciplinary committee is scheduled for March 29, chaired by Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, and will include committee members such as Nirmal Ghosh, the Trinamool Congress Chief Whip, Chandrima Bhattacharya, Minister of State for Finance (independent charge), Firhad Hakim, Minister for Municipal Affairs & Urban Development, and Arup Biwas, State Power Minister.
It remains to be seen whether the legislators in question will receive a warning or face disciplinary measures.
Last week, an MLA from Bhagalpur in Murshidabad district appeared before the disciplinary committee due to his controversial remarks regarding the Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari.
However, instead of recommending disciplinary action, he was merely cautioned to exercise more caution in the future.
