Lok Sabha Monsoon Session Opens with Protests and Visible TMC Split

The first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament on Monday saw protests outside the building by the Congress Janata Party (CJP) and sloganeering by Opposition members inside, but the most striking indicator of the shifting political landscape was the behaviour of those who chose not to protest.

Shortly after the Lok Sabha convened, Opposition MPs entered the Well, raising slogans against the government over the NEET paper leak and the alleged theft of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. However, 26 MPs remained seated – 20 rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs who have merged with the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), and six Shiv Sena (UBT) members who now sit with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena after joining its fold.

The contrast within the TMC was particularly stark. Three months ago, the party had stood with the Congress in opposing the 131st Constitution Amendment Bill, which aimed to expedite the women's quota law and Delimitation Bill, helping the Opposition INDIA bloc defeat it in the Lok Sabha. On Monday, while Mahua Moitra and other TMC MPs loyal to Mamata Banerjee joined the protests, veteran leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay, now leading the breakaway group, sat silently with other rebels.

The changed scenario was reflected in the seating plan. Speaker Om Birla had rejigged the layout after rebel TMC MPs requested separate seating. Bandyopadhyay occupied a front-row seat in the third Opposition block, previously allotted to TMC floor leader Abhishek Banerjee, sitting beside Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Faizabad MP Awadhesh Prasad. Other rebels were seated in an adjoining block, with Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar in the second row, surrounded by MPs from NDA allies like JD(U) and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas).

Veteran TMC MP Sougata Roy also sat in the same block, separated from the rebels by only a few seats. Despite repeated adjournments, there was no interaction between the two factions. During one break, Roy was seen conversing with Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, at whose residence the rebels had gathered before announcing their split.

The new arrangement created a quiet irony: Mahua Moitra left her protest placards on the bench occupied by Dastidar. Each time the House reconvened, she would retrieve the placards and march to the Well to protest, while Dastidar remained seated a few feet away.

Bandyopadhyay interacted with several BJP leaders during adjournments, underscoring the changed equations that the TMC claims were engineered by the ruling party.

The day also highlighted subtle differences in Opposition coordination. While Congress and DMK were among the first to enter the Well, they protested on different issues. Congress focused on the NEET leak and Ram Temple donation allegations, while DMK MPs, wearing blue scarves, raised slogans against the Karnataka government's decision to proceed with a dam on the Cauvery river.