Lok Sabha gives rebel TMC MPs 7 days to respond to disqualification plea
Lok Sabha secretariat has issued a seven-day notice to 20 rebel TMC MPs to reply to a disqualification petition filed by Abhishek Banerjee.
The Lok Sabha secretariat has initiated proceedings against 20 rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs, giving them seven days to respond to a disqualification petition. The notice, issued on Wednesday, stems from the MPs' merger with the Tripura-based Nationalist Citizens Party of India in June.
The petition was filed by Abhishek Banerjee, the TMC's national general secretary and its leader in the Lok Sabha. The notice, dated August 25, invokes Rule 6 of the Members of Lok Sabha (Disqualification on Ground of Defection) Rules, 1985, which governs the service and disposal of such petitions.
The communication requests the MPs to furnish their comments under Rule 7(3) of the rules within seven days of receipt, for the Speaker's consideration. This development comes a day after the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, agreed to hear Banerjee's plea seeking swift action in the matter.
Banerjee, who represents Diamond Harbour and is the nephew of former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has filed separate petitions against each of the 20 MPs. He had earlier met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on August 12 and sent a written reminder on July 27.
The MPs named include 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.