Abhishek Banerjee seeks disqualification of 20 rebel MPs at meeting with LS Speaker

Kolkata, June 19 (IANS) A delegation of four Trinamool Congress MPs, three from Lok Sabha and one from Rajya Sabha, led by the party’s general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, on Friday met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and sought the disqualification of 20 rebel party MPs who recently joined the Tripura‑based Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI).

Speaking to media persons after the meeting, Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, said he and other members of the delegation submitted 20 separate petitions seeking the disqualification of the rebel MPs.

He questioned how these MPs, after being elected as Trinamool candidates, could independently decide to merge with NCPI and still remain Lok Sabha members.

“Their actions are unconstitutional and require immediate action. If they have a problem with Trinamool, they are free to quit the party. But at the same time, they should also resign as Lok Sabha members and face fresh elections as is warranted in democracy,” Banerjee said.

He claimed that during the meeting, the Trinamool delegation argued that, under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution, any elected representative who voluntarily gives up membership of the party on whose ticket he or she was elected automatically becomes liable to disqualification.

“We have also submitted to the Speaker that provisions in the Constitution relating to a merger by two‑thirds of members apply to any political party as a whole and not just to its Legislative or Parliamentary Wing,” Banerjee added.

Recently, 20 rebel Trinamool Lok Sabha members, led by four‑time legislators Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Satabdi Roy, revolted. Although they initially decided to remain as rebels within the Trinamool majority bloc in the Lok Sabha, they announced earlier this month that they would join NCPI.

Currently, Trinamool has 27 members in the Lok Sabha. The Basirhat seat in the North 24 Parganas district remains vacant following the death of Trinamool MP Haji Sk. Nurul Islam in September 2024, just a few months after his election.

–IANS

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