Abhishek Banerjee Seeks Disqualification Of 20 Rebel TMC MPs Over Alleged Defection

New Delhi: Trinamool Congress leader in the Lok Sabha, Abhishek Banerjee, on Friday met Speaker Om Birla and submitted 20 separate petitions seeking the disqualification of 20 rebel party MPs, arguing that they had voluntarily given up their membership of the Trinamool Congress and were liable to lose their seats under the anti-defection law.

Banerjee was accompanied by senior party leaders Saugata Roy, Kalyan Banerjee, Mahua Moitra and Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O’Brien during the meeting at Parliament House.

Addressing reporters afterwards, Banerjee said the rebel MPs had claimed to join the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) and sought recognition as a separate group in the Lok Sabha. He contended that such a move was legally untenable, maintaining that the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution disqualifies members who voluntarily leave their original party.

He further argued that the rebels could not invoke the merger provision under the anti-defection law because it requires the merger of at least two-thirds of the political party as a whole, rather than only members of its legislature wing.

According to Banerjee, the party has also furnished judicial precedents on the interpretation of the Tenth Schedule to support its case before the Speaker.

The TMC leader criticised the rebel MPs for seeking separate seating arrangements and organisational recognition in the House, asserting that they should first face disqualification proceedings. He also accused them of abandoning the party for personal reasons and alleged that some had acted under pressure or inducement.

The Speaker is expected to hear both sides before taking a decision on the rebels’ demand for separate recognition in the Lok Sabha.