In a rare show of strength, TMC joins Rahul 'black shirt' protest

Taking a tactical U-turn, Trinamool Congress (TMC) attended a meeting of opposition parties convened by Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge in his office in the Parliament building on Monday.

Kharge, who is also the Leader of the Congress Party in Rajya Sabha, had called the meeting to discuss floor coordination and chalk out a strategy for their fight in the House over issues like Adani row and Rahul Gandhi's disqualification.

After refusing to come under the umbrella of a unified Opposition led by Congress for long, two TMC MPs participated in the meeting. The TMC, which has been maintaining a safe distance from Congress so far, was represented by its two MPs - Jawhar Sircar and Prasun Banerjee - in the meeting.

As the showdown in Parliament continues, like-minded parties met at the Kharge's office in the Parliament building. Leaders of DMK, SP, JDU, BRS, CPM, RJD, NCP, CPI, IUML, MDMK, Kerala Congress, RSP, AAP, JKNC and Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction) were also present in the meeting.

The logjam continued in Parliament on Monday as the Opposition demands a probe by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Adani issue while the Treasury Benches are demanding an apology from Rahul Gandhi for his 'anti-India' speech in the UK.

TMC and SP joining the meeting has come as a surprise TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as well as SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had said recently that they would maintain equal distance from BJP and Congress.

"We will maintain equal distance from the Congress and BJP... Mamata Banerjee will hold dialogues with parties that are capable of defeating BJP in their respective States. She will meet Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik on March 23," Hindustan Times quoted TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay as saying.

"She will also meet leaders of other parties when she visits Delhi in the last week of March or early-April. Congress should not feel that they are the big boss of the Opposition front," he had added.

Congress welcomes TMC support
Speaking to the media, Kharge thanked the opposition parties, including the TMC, which have come out in support of Congress after Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as a Member of Lok Sabha.