speaker-set-to-rule-on-tmc-sena-rebel-mps-before-monsoon-session

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birka is expected to take a call on the politically sensitive defection cases involving rebel MPs from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Shiv Sena (UBT) before the monsoon session of Parliament, sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

The Speaker has already held meetings with delegations from both the parent parties and the breakaway groups, as demands for the disqualification of the rebel MPs under the anti-defection law continue to gather momentum.

Sources said consultations are underway with legal and constitutional experts attached to Parliament. Previous rulings in similar cases are also being examined to ensure that any decision is constitutionally sound and legally sustainable.

The issue has significant implications for the composition of the Lok Sabha ahead of the monsoon session, expected to commence in the third week of July. The Lok Sabha Secretariat is also understood to be examining possible seating arrangements for various groups in the House.

 

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The TMC faces the larger challenge, with 20 of its 29 Lok Sabha MPs elected in the 2024 general election breaking away and joining the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a registered but unrecognised political party based in West Bengal. The rebel MPs have also expressed support for the Narendra Modi-led government and indicated their desire to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

TMC general secretary and Lok Sabha leader Abhishek Banerjee has submitted 20 separate petitions seeking the disqualification of the rebels. He argued before the Speaker that their claim of having merged with another party is invalid as the law requires a merger of the parent political party, not merely a breakaway group of legislators.

A similar dispute has emerged in Shiv Sena (UBT), where six of the party's nine Lok Sabha MPs have joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Party leaders Anil Desai and Arvind Sawant recently met Birla and urged him to uphold the provisions of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said the party expects justice from the Speaker, whose decision is likely to shape the political arithmetic in the Lok Sabha ahead of a crucial parliamentary session.