NCPI rift deepens as 3 MPs skip NDA meeting for second time

New Delhi: The absence of three NCPI MPs from the NDA parliamentary party's weekly meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday underscored emerging fault lines within the 20-member group of Trinamool Congress rebels over its growing proximity to the ruling alliance.

Prime Minister Modi, Union ministers and leaders of NDA constituents attended the "Mangal Milan" meeting at the Parliament House complex. However, Khalilur Rahaman, Abu Taher Khan and Yusuf Pathan -- all representing Muslim-dominated constituencies in West Bengal -- stayed away for the second consecutive time, having also skipped the coalition's inaugural parliamentary party meeting on June 28.

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Speaking to reporters in Parliament, Khan asserted that the three MPs were neither joining the NDA nor the BJP. "We are not with the NDA, neither are we going to the BJP. The three of us did not attend today's NDA meeting as well. We will not support any step that is against Muslims," he said.

Sources said the three MPs chose to skip the meeting after facing questions from constituents over their perceived association with the BJP.

The development assumes significance as the NCPI's claim for recognition as a separate group in the Lok Sabha is still pending before Speaker Om Birla. The breakaway bloc can seek protection under the anti-defection law only if it retains the support of at least two-thirds of the TMC's original strength of 28 Lok Sabha MPs.