The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Election Commission to decide the symbol dispute between rival Trinamool Congress factions within three months.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana was hearing the writ petition filed by former West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress founder Mamata Banerjee, challenging the Election Commission’s September 17 decision to freeze the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) name and its ‘Flowers & Grass’ election symbol amid a dispute between rival factions of the party. Mamata Banerjee moved the Supreme Court on September 18, hours after the Election Commission allotted separate names and symbols to the two rival factions following its September 17 interim order freezing the original party identity for the upcoming by-elections. The Election Commission’s September 17 order came after rival groups staked claim to the party name, symbol and organisational control. The commission said there were two rival groups, one led by Banerjee and the other by the opposing faction, and that the dispute required a substantive determination under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
