Lok Sabha Secretariat Gives 7 Days to 20 Rebel TMC MPs to Respond to Disqualification Plea

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha Secretariat has given seven days to 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs who merged with the National Citizens Party of India to respond to a complaint seeking their disqualification under the anti-defection law. The notice was issued to the rebel MPs on Wednesday following a complaint filed by Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

The timing of the notice is significant as it comes after the Supreme Court intervened in the matter. Abhishek Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court seeking urgent action. A bench headed by the Chief Justice agreed on Tuesday to hear the petition and sought responses from the rebel MPs. The notices were subsequently served on Wednesday, bearing Tuesday’s date.

Abhishek Banerjee had written to the Lok Sabha Speaker on June 18 seeking the disqualification of the rebel MPs. He later approached the Supreme Court questioning the delay in deciding on the disqualification proceedings.

The TMC MPs left the party in large numbers and moved to the NDA camp after the the party registered a major lose in the Assembly elections in Bengal. The election loss subsequently brought out the internal conflicts in the Trinamool Congress.

The Mamata Banerjee-led faction maintains that the MPs contested and won the elections on the TMC symbol and that their decision to join another political grouping amounts to voluntarily giving up their party membership. According to the party, this makes them liable for disqualification under the anti-defection law.

The rebel faction, however, argues that its move constitutes a legal merger. The rebels had merged with the Tripura-based Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) and subsequently announced their support for the NDA.

Following the split of the TMC, both factions have been in a continuous fight over the legitimacy over the othe side.