TMC Files 20 Disqualification Petitions Against Rebel MPs

The petitions ask Speaker Om Birla to treat the rebels’ claimed merger with the NCPI as a breach of the 10th Schedule risking loss of their Lok Sabha seats.

Overview

Abhishek Banerjee met Speaker Om Birla and on Friday submitted about 20 separate disqualification petitions aimed at MPs who say they formed a separate group and linked up with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India.
Each petition runs roughly 21 pages and includes legal arguments, judicial precedents and media material that TMC says show the move is not a valid merger under anti-defection rules.
Banerjee told reporters that a lawful merger must involve two thirds of the political party itself rather than only a legislative wing and he asked the Speaker to apply the 10th Schedule to strip the rebels of membership.
TMC leaders who accompanied Banerjee named pressure or inducement as possible motives for the split and referenced probes by central agencies such as the ED and CBI as part of their public allegations.
The Speaker must now decide on the petitions before any court review and the ruling could change parliamentary numbers, trigger legal appeals and shape how the anti-defection law is applied in future party breaks.