History repeats itself. Just as Mamata Banerjee broke away from Congress and established her own party, her party is now being torn apart in a similar fashion. At least, control of the parliamentary party has slipped from her hands. The 58 ‘rebel’ MLAs of the Trinamool Congress wrote to Speaker Rathindra Bose, appointing Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition. The Speaker acknowledged the letter and recognized Ritabrata as the Leader of the Opposition.
For the first time in the 28-year history of the Trinamool Congress, a decision has gone against Mamata Banerjee. The ‘New Trinamool’ officially emerged in the state, and with the Speaker’s blessing, Ritabrata took the seat of Leader of the Opposition. He then made it clear that while they would seek Mamata Banerjee’s advice if she wished, their role would be limited to that of an advisor. The driving force of the party would remain in their own hands.
The question now is what Mamata Banerjee will do—or can do. Will the party symbol also be lost? Or will she challenge this division by the Ritabrata faction through legal means? Are there any such options available? To discuss this, Mamata held a meeting at Kalighat with the few party leaders still with her, including Kunal Ghosh, Firhad Hakim, Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, and Abhishek Banerjee.
At this moment, one option Mamata has is the legal path. She can approach the court against the Speaker’s decision to recognize Ritabrata as the Leader of the Opposition. Her camp has consistently claimed that Sovandeb was officially recognized as the Leader of the Opposition by the party. Although the court does not directly intervene in parliamentary matters, there have been many past instances where courts have ordered changes to the Speaker’s decisions.
Mamata’s second option is to expel all the rebels from the party. In that case, the number of MLAs in the Trinamool parliamentary party would drop to 20. The party would lose its status as the main opposition. The rebels would then have to go to the Election Commission, claiming to be the real Trinamool and demanding the rights to the party’s symbol and name. This would lead to a long legal battle.
If the Ritabrata faction claims to be the real Trinamool, the Election Commission will scrutinize the entire matter. In that case, not only the MLAs but also the party’s MPs and office bearers at various levels would be considered. The Election Commission would then seek the opinions of all MLAs, MPs, and office bearers. This could give Mamata a chance to retain the party symbol, though it is unclear if the split among MLAs has spread to the MPs as well.
Mamata’s third option is to negotiate with the rebel MLAs, persuading them to return to the mainstream. However, the Ritabrata faction has drawn a clear line regarding Abhishek and Mamata. Their stance makes it clear that they will not stay in the party if Abhishek remains. Therefore, any compromise with the rebels would require removing Abhishek, which currently seems impossible. Additionally, Mamata Banerjee sitting down for talks with Ritabrata would be beneath her dignity.
Given the situation, Mamata’s position is like that of the patriarch Bhishma. The political kingdom she built is being destroyed before her eyes by a struggle for succession. Yet, she has no way to take sides. Now, it remains to be seen whether she will watch everything as a silent spectator or step into this great battle as a warrior, batting for her nephew.
New rules have been announced for the upcoming Football World Cup. A set of new regulations is being introduced. The International Football Association Board (IFAB), the body that makes the laws of international football, has announced these changes. According to FIFA’s Referees Committee Chairman, Pierluigi Collina, these new rules are being implemented to take strict action against discriminatory behavior, reduce time-wasting, increase the pace of the game, and improve the experience for players and spectators.
