Who Will Get TMC And Who Will Get Flower-grass Symbol? Supreme Court Grants Time To Both Factions

New Delhi: The Supreme Court heard the case involving the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and its election symbol on Monday. The Supreme Court granted the two rival factions 20 more days to complete their arguments before the Election Commission in the dispute over the party's name and the flower and grass symbol. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana issued the order.

Mamata Banerjee issued the order after considering arguments from senior advocate and MP Kalyan Banerjee, who appeared for the All India Trinamool Congress, and senior advocate K Parameshwara, who represented the faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee. Initially, Kalyan Banerjee argued that the faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee had not filed the necessary petitions before the Election Commission.

Parameshwara said that due to the Dussehra festival in the state, the group was unable to obtain the non-judicial stamp papers needed to file certain documents with the poll panel. He requested more time to complete the process.

Supreme Court granted 20 days' time to both factions

The bench granted the Democratic Trinamool Congress 10 days to file its counter-affidavit and other documents with the Election Commission. It also granted Mamata Banerjee's group another 10 days to file its counter-affidavit and other necessary documents after receiving the opposition group's response.

The court clarified that both parties would be free to question the admissibility of the documents filed before the poll panel in support of their respective claims. On September 28, the bench directed the Election Commission to decide the dispute over the party name and the “flower and grass” symbol within four months. Earlier, it had asked the groups to complete their submissions and directed the poll panel to decide the matter within three months of the completion of that process.

These orders were passed during the hearing of a petition filed by former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee against the Election Commission's decision to freeze the TMC's name and symbol. On September 24, the Supreme Court had asked the poll panel to specify how much time it would need to decide the dispute.

EC had given different symbols to both the factions

The Election Commission assigned different names and symbols to the two factions on September 17. Following this, both were temporarily barred from using the All India Trinamool Congress name and its reserve symbol until the dispute was finally resolved. Mamata Banerjee's group was given the name Mamata All India Trinamool Congress and the "Football Player" symbol. Ritabrata Banerjee's group received the name Democratic Trinamool Congress and the "Envelope" symbol.

The assembly by-elections in Nandigram in East Medinipur district and Rejinagar in Murshidabad district of West Bengal were scheduled for October 6, and the counting of votes was scheduled for October 9. In its interim order, the poll panel, after hearing leaders from both Banerjee and Arup Roy factions, said that a detailed decision on the dispute was required under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.

A similar dispute involving the Shiv Sena is pending in the Supreme Court. On September 24, the court said the matter should be decided expeditiously and asked the Election Commission to provide a “reasonable” timeframe that would give both parties a fair opportunity to present evidence and enable the poll panel to make a final decision.