Trinamool to move SC against rebel MPs, may file disqualification plea in 10 days

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) is set to approach the Supreme Court against 20 rebel Lok Sabha MPs who broke away from the party and joined the little-known Nationalist Citizens' Party of India (NCPI). The Mamata Banerjee-led party is likely to file a petition seeking their disqualification within seven to 10 days, sources said.The move came amid growing friction between the TMC and the Speaker's office over the pending disqualification petitions. Sources said the party does not want to wait any longer for a decision from Speaker Om Birla's office, arguing that further delay could affect its case.The party's Lok Sabha leader and general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, met Birla on Wednesday and sought an early decision. He warned that he would approach the Supreme Court if the Speaker failed to act within the period required by law and judicial directions.Sources also said the party is also citing the three-month period for deciding defection-related complaints and Supreme Court directions on the timely disposal of such petitions. WHAT ABHISHEK BANERJEE SAIDBanerjee said he first raised the issue with Birla in June, when individual disqualification petitions were filed against each of the 20 MPs, but nearly two months had passed without a satisfactory response."I had already raised this issue with the Speaker in June, when individual disqualification petitions were moved against each of them. Nearly two months have passed since then, but I have still not received any satisfactory response," Banerjee told reporters outside Parliament. He said he was relying on Supreme Court directions regarding the timely disposal of disqualification petitions."If the speaker does not decide on these petitions within the period required by law and applicable judicial directions, I will be compelled to approach the Supreme Court and seek its intervention," he said.Banerjee said he and other TMC MPs had repeatedly taken up the issue with Birla. He said a letter seeking action was submitted by July 26, but no decision had followed.WHY DID THE REBEL MPs BREAK AWAY FROM TMC?The 20 MPs, including rebel TMC leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, broke away from the party and announced their merger with NCPI, a little-known party headquartered in Howrah.The rebels claim to represent more than two-thirds of the TMC's 28 Lok Sabha MPs. They have sought separate seating and have begun aligning themselves with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The rebel group has already attended NDA meetings while the MPs continue to be listed as TMC members in Lok Sabha records, according to sources.The TMC has challenged the legal validity of the move, arguing that the MPs voluntarily gave up TMC membership by joining another political formation and that their claimed merger with NCPI is not protected under the anti-defection law.The TMC had on June 19 submitted 20 separate petitions to the Speaker seeking their disqualification. The petitions have remained pending, according to the party.Banerjee had also sought the reversal of changes made to the division and seat numbers of TMC MPs in the Lok Sabha.ROW OVER SEATING AND RECOGNITIONThe dispute has also extended to the parliamentary status of the rebels. Banerjee questioned why the MPs had neither been formally recognised as a separate group nor treated accordingly."If they are to be recognised as the NCPI, that decision should be made. But recognition cannot be withheld while, at the same time, their speaking time is being deducted from our allotted time," he said.The TMC has objected to the Lok Sabha Secretariat's July 18 circular changing the division and seat numbers of its 28 MPs, while another circular issued the same day continued to recognise the TMC as a single parliamentary party of 28 MPs, with Banerjee as its leader.Ahead of the Monsoon Session, the rebel MPs had met Birla to discuss separate seating, recognition of the NCPI parliamentary group and the appointment of Sudip Bandyopadhyay as its floor leader and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar as chief whip.The NCPI was subsequently invited separately to an all-party meeting on July 19, prompting Opposition parties to walk out.- Ends(with inputs from PTI)Published By: Prateek ChakrabortyPublished On: Aug 13, 2026 16:39 IST