20 rebel TMC MPs get Lok Sabha notices, asked to respond to disqualification pleas in 7 days

The Lok Sabha Secretariat has issued notices to 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs and sought their responses within seven days to disqualification petitions filed by TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee under the antidefection law sources told PTIThe notices dated August 25 were issued under Rule 6 of the Members of Lok Sabha Disqualification on Ground of Defection Rules 1985 They include copies of Banerjees petitions dated June 18 against the 20 MPs who have joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India NCPI sources told PTIThe MPs have been asked to submit their comments on the petitions within seven days of receiving the noticesNotices follow Supreme Court interventionThe development comes a day after the Supreme Court agreed to hear Banerjees plea seeking an expeditious decision on the disqualification petitionsA bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana agreed to hear Banerjees petition challenging the alleged delay in deciding the proceedings against the 20 MPsDuring the hearing the Supreme Court also issued notice to the 20 rebel MPs However it did not issue notice to the office of the Lok Sabha Speaker or the secretarygeneral of the House after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said he was appearing for themThe court observed It is not a question of issuing notices it is a question of concluding the proceedings within a time frameBanerjee has repeatedly sought early decisionBanerjee had earlier filed separate disqualification petitions against each of the 20 MPs and subsequently sought an early decision on themThe TMC leader also met Lok Sabha Speaker on August 12 to press for action This followed a written reminder sent by him on July 27 regarding the pending petitionsThe latest notices from the Lok Sabha Secretariat now give the MPs seven days to respond to the allegations made in the disqualification petitionsThe proceedings are being examined under the antidefection provisions applicable to members of the Lok Sabha with the Speaker having a key role in deciding disqualification petitionsDispute follows TMC parliamentary rebellionThe disqualification 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 NCPI a political outfit based in TripuraThe rebel MPs subsequently sought separate recognition in Parliament and have been treated as an NCPI group in the House They have also participated in NDA parliamentary activitiesThe development has led to a dispute over whether their move constitutes a valid merger or amounts to voluntarily giving up their membership of the TMCTMC says MPs attracted antidefection lawThe TMC has maintained that the 20 MPs were elected on the partys symbol and that their decision to align with another political formation amounts to voluntarily giving up their membership of the partyThe party has argued that this attracts disqualification under the antidefection law and has sought action against the MPsThe rebel camp however has maintained that its move amounts to a valid merger and has challenged the basis of the disqualification demandThe issue is now before the Lok Sabha Secretariat with the MPs required to respond to the petitions within the stipulated sevenday period20 MPs named in disqualification petitionsThe 20 MPs named in Banerjees petitions 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 PathanWith inputs from PTI