Now Reading: Lok Sabha Secretariat notices 20 rebel TMC MPs on disqualification
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Lok Sabha Secretariat notices 20 rebel TMC MPs on disqualification
New Delhi: The Lok Sabha Secretariat has issued notices to 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs, asking them to respond within seven days to a disqualification petition filed by TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee.…
New Delhi: The Lok Sabha Secretariat has issued notices to 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs, asking them to respond within seven days to a disqualification petition filed by TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee. The notices, dated August 25, forwarded Banerjee's June 18 petition under the anti-defection law's Rule 6. The move comes a day after the Supreme Court agreed to hear Banerjee's plea for an expeditious decision on the disqualification proceedings.
The 20 MPs had announced they joined or merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a Tripura-based outfit, and have since been treated as an NCPI group in Parliament. The TMC argues the MPs voluntarily gave up party membership, while the rebel camp claims a valid merger. During the hearing, the Supreme Court observed it was about concluding proceedings within a time frame, not issuing notices.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The 20 rebel TMC MPs have already been recognised by the Lok Sabha Speaker as the NCPI group and have participated in NDA parliamentary activities, making the legal question a test of the anti-defection law's merger exception. Under the Tenth Schedule, a merger is valid only if at least two-thirds of a party's legislators agree to it, the TMC had 23 Lok Sabha MPs at the time of the split. The Speaker has not ruled on Banerjee's petitions since June, and the Supreme Court has now pressed for a time-bound conclusion. The next concrete step is the MPs' response to the Secretariat notice, due within seven days, after which the Speaker must decide whether the defection or the merger claim prevails.
Source: news.abplive.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
