Dinesh Trivedi allowed to use floor of House to announce resignation for devious political ends: TMC

Trivedi on Friday announced his resignation from the Upper House during the debate on Budget

Trinamool Congress has demanded an inquiry into the circumstances leading to the Rajya Sabha allowing Dinesh Trivedi to announce his resignation on the floor of the House, alleging that he took the House "for a ride" to achieve his "devious political ends".

Snapping his 22-year-old ties with Trinamool Congress and amid a number of Trinamool leaders joining BJP, Trivedi (70) on Friday announced his resignation from the Upper House during the debate on Budget, claiming that he cannot remain silent when West Bengal is facing political violence.

Also read: Dinesh Trivedi resigns from Rajya Sabha, says can't remain silent on violence in Bengal

On Saturday, Trinamool Chief Whip in Rajya Sabha Shukhendu Shekhar Ray shot off a letter to the Upper House's Secretary-General raising the issue and demanding an enquiry to find out the reasons behind "unprecedented illegality" being committed in the House to "malign" his party.

He said the Trinamool Congress had recommended two names as speakers for the discussion on Budget -- himself and Abir Ranjan Biswas. Trivedi's name was not on the list but was allowed to speak for four minutes despite there being no time left for the party, he said.

Ray said Trivedi was allotted a seat in the Rajya Sabha Gallery, as part of Covid-19 protocol, but he came down inside the Council Chamber to speak and started "rambling on his personal political motives, etc. from a seat of his choice and the Chair did not take any action to stop such unauthorised intervention in the Budget discussion."

He also said Trivedi spoke against the party he belonged to and made "certain wild allegations against the Trinamool Congress to substantiate his proposed resignation" from the House.

The incident and the manner in which Trivedi "grossly misutilised the floor of the House for his devious political ends and also the way he was allowed to have taken the House for a ride is absolutely unprecedented, unwarranted and is devoid of not only decorum and etiquette as envisaged in 'Rajya Sabha at Work', but also against all rules, norms and traditions of this august House," Ray said.

It is a "matter of great concern that although there were adequate mechanisms" under the rules to restrain the unruly member, it was not adopted for reasons not known to them, he claimed.

Ray said there is a "specific rule to use for resigning from Rajya Sabha by a Member, but there doesn't exist any rule" by which a Member is authorised to announce his resignation on the floor of the House.

The "entire development that took place on February 12 was absolutely beyond the scope of the rules, regulations, practices and traditions of this august House", he added.