Rebel TMC MPs get notices from Lok Sabha Secretariat on disqualification pleas; asked to reply within 7 days

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File picture of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla receiving a letter from TMC rebel MPs, including Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Satabdi Roy, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Mala Roy, Yusuf Pathan, and others, for a separate seating arrangement in the House, in New Delhi | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

The Lok Sabha Secretariat has issued notices to 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs and sought their replies within seven days on petitions filed by TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee seeking their disqualification under the anti-defection law, sources said.

The notices, dated August 25, forwarded a copy of Banerjee's petition dated June 18 filed against the MPs, who joined the NCPI , under Rule 6 of the Members of Lok Sabha (Disqualification on Ground of Defection) Rules, 1985.

The Secretariat has asked the MPs to furnish their comments on the petition within seven days of receipt of the notice, the sources said.

The development comes a day after the Supreme Court agreed to hear Mr. Banerjee's plea seeking an expeditious decision on the disqualification petitions.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana agreed to hear Banerjee's plea questioning the alleged delay in deciding the disqualification proceedings.

The apex court, while issuing notice to the 20 rebel MPs, declined to issue notice to the office of the Lok Sabha Speaker and the secretary-general of the House after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said he was representing them.

During the hearing, the court observed, "It is not a question of issuing notices; it is a question of concluding the proceedings within a time frame."

Mr. Banerjee had earlier submitted separate disqualification petitions against the 20 MPs and subsequently sought expeditious disposal of the proceedings. He had also met the Lok Sabha Speaker on August 12 over the issue after sending a written reminder on July 27.

The dispute follows a rebellion within the TMC parliamentary party after 20 of its Lok Sabha MPs announced that they had joined or merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a Tripura-based political outfit, and sought separate recognition in the House.

The rebel MPs have subsequently been treated as an NCPI group in Parliament and have participated in NDA parliamentary activities.

The TMC has maintained that the MPs were elected on its symbol and that their decision to align with another political formation amounts to voluntarily giving up membership of the party, attracting disqualification under the anti-defection law. The rebel camp has maintained that its move constitutes a valid merger.

The 20 MPs named in Mr. Banerjee's petition are Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Satabdi Roy, Prasun Banerjee, Rachana Banerjee, Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia, Partha Bhowmick, Arup Chakraborty, Adhikari Deepak Dev, Sayani Ghosh, Bapi Haldar, Md Abu Taher Khan, Kalipada Saren Kherwal, Asit Kumar Mal, June Maliah, Mitali Bag, Khalilur Rahaman, Mala Roy, Sharmila Sarkar and Yusuf Pathan.