Trinamul Congress joins Opposition protests

 TMC MPs attend two meetings convened by the leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge

The Opposition meeting underway at Kharge’s house in New Delhi

TT Special Correspondent   |   New Delhi   |  28.03.23 : The Trinamul Congress, which has been charting its own course of protest in Parliament this session, joined the Opposition protests on Monday and attended two meetings convened by the leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge.

“There comes a time when you cross the line. It is about saving democracy. It is also about graciousness on all sides,” Trinamul’s Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’ Brien said when asked about the party’s change in stance.

However, he remained non-committal on whether this would continue beyond this session.

Even as the Trinamul MPs joined the Opposition protests, the party maintained a distance. Instead of wearing black in the House as a sign of protest, the Trinamul MPs wore only black masks.

Also, though the floor leaders were invited to the two meetings convened by Kharge, the Trinamul sent an MP each from the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.  

While Bengal chief minister and Trinamul chief Mamata Baner jee took the lead among the Opposition party leaders in speaking out against Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as an MP on Friday, Monday’s change in tack appears to have been the result of leadership-level contacts over the weekend.

Also, Rahul’s decision to thank other Opposition leaders for standing by him after the disqualification appears to have helped soften the Trinamul’s stance.

Trinamul leaders maintained that the party was the first to use black as a sign of protest in this session of Parliament.

On March 16, Trinamul MPs had worn black masks in the two Houses to show how the Opposition was being gagged.