3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 20, 2026 02:09 AM IST
The Opposition Sunday walked out of the all-party meeting called by the government ahead of the Monsoon session of Parliament over the invitation to the rebel faction of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which has merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI).
Congress MP and communication in charge Jairam Ramesh told The Indian Express that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which have not been attending INDIA bloc meetings recently, along with other Opposition parties, walked out of the all-party meeting.
Ramesh said, “All Opposition parties staged a walkout from the all-party meeting for a few minutes. This was a mark of protest against the decision of the Modi government to invite the NCPI, which is a parking place for 20 so-called ‘rebel’ TMC MPs, when a final decision is still pending with the Speaker.”
“When the bill itself is not known to us, how can we take a stand? Let the bill see the light of the day, then we will decide”, DMK leader A Raja told The Indian Express.
Addressing reporters after the meeting, Lok Sabha member Mahua Moitra, who represented the TMC at the meeting, said: “Today, the entire Opposition including the Congress, the Samajwadi Party, DMK, JMM, Aam Aadmi Party, National Conference, Left parties, Shiv Sena UBT have all walked out of the all-party meeting in protest of the so-called NCPI, which is an unrecognised party. The strength of the All India Trinamool Congress in the list provided by the table office is shown to be 28 members. These so-called 20 rebel MPs, their merger has not been approved by the Speaker. The 20 disqualification petitions are still pending. After the 91st amendment, there is no room for a separate bloc. So, on what grounds did the parliamentary affairs minister extend an invitation to these 20 rebel MPs, and how are they attending this meeting? We have registered our strong protest and walked out as a symbol of our protest. And we thank all our Opposition parties.”
Samajwadi Party MP Dharemdra Yadav said, “The entire Opposition is united. No matter how much the government tries to engineer defections or create divisions, it has not been able to create any differences among the Opposition.”
CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member John Brittas, who represented the party at the meeting, said the Opposition walked out because the “sanctity of the all-party meeting has been sullied as the Trinamool Congress split hasn’t been accepted or adjudicated by the Speaker.”
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“The haphazard, high-handed way in which the government has invited the rebel faction of the TMC is against the sanctity and credibility of the all-party meeting,” he added.
In June, a group of TMC MPs had told Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla that they had merged with the NCPI, and that they want to sit in the House as a separate bloc. The decision on the merger is pending before the Speaker.
