Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLAs, who skipped the second half of recently concluded Budget Session in the Assembly despite party whip, have been asked to appear before the Parliamentary Disciplinary Committee of the ruling party.
The committee held a meeting on Monday and it was decided that the MLAs of Trinamool who remained absent in the Assembly sessions will have to physically appear before the committee and explain why they skipped these sessions on March 19 and 20 despite a party whip to attend them.
On March 19, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attended the session during which more than 200 party MLAs remained present. But on March 20, the number of MLAs from the ruling party dropped to 90. The disciplinary committee may hold the next meeting later this week. The committee has also been examining the attendance registers of the MLAs and the ministers as well. It was learnt that the ministers mark their attendance in two attendance registers while the MLAs mark their attendance in the different register book. Examinations are being carried out to find out MLAs who had skipped the sessions on these two days despite party whip.
There was a smaller number of Trinamool Congress in the Assembly House recently when the BJP MLAs were staging a demonstration. Speaker Biman Bandopadhyay on repeated occasions raised questions on the attendance issue of the MLAs.
Chief Minister and Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee held a meeting with party MLAs at the Assembly premises in December last year when she emphasised the need for greater discipline.
Taking a firm stance on absenteeism of party MLAs in the Assembly, the TMC chairperson announced that MLAs who miss three consecutive days of an ongoing Assembly session will receive a show-cause notice on the fourth day. During a meeting with party legislators, Banerjee had also expressed displeasure over the poor attendance despite her earlier directives urging regular participation during Assembly sessions. The ruling Trinamool Congress may take action against its MLAs who remained absent during the second phase of the recently concluded Budget Session. It was learnt from the sources that at least 50 Trinamool Congress may face action.