TMC legislature party disciplinary committee sets new rules for MLA attendance during Assembly session

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) legislature party’s disciplinary committee has now set new rules to ensure that its party MLAs remain present during Assembly sessions.

The disciplinary committee is said to have held a meeting recently where discussions took place concerning measures to be taken to ensure regular attendance of its party MLAs during the Assembly session.

It is learnt that the meeting was held at the instruction of party’s chairperson Mamata Banerjee.

It was decided in the meeting that all ministers need to sign their attendance in a register that will be kept in the room of the Parliamentary Affairs minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay.

Other MLAs would have to sign registers in the room of the party’s chief whip Nirmal Ghosh. It is learnt that the list of absentees will be sent to Mamata Banerjee.

Such a move also comes in the wake of several ruling party MLAs being absent in the last Assembly session on the day the House was to decide on a date for observing Bengal’s foundation day.

Questions were raised by the disciplinary committee over the reason for the absence despite being intimated beforehand that the party’s chairperson Mamata Banerjee will be present in the Assembly on that day for the said purpose.

The absent MLAs were asked to show cause and warned of action by the disciplinary committee. Their absence was considered as a violation of the party’s discipline code. The answers from the MLAs concerned were sought by senior TMC MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay who is chairing the disciplinary committee which was formed at the instructions of Mamata Banerjee. Other members of the committee include Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas, Chandrima Bhattacharya and Birbaha Hansda.