Lok Sabha Secretariat issues disqualification notices to 20 rebel TMC MPs

The Lok Sabha Secretariat has issued notices to 20 rebel Trinamool Congress Members of Parliament, directing them to respond within seven days to a petition seeking their disqualification under the anti-defection law. The notices, dated August 25, 2026, follow a petition filed by TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee and were issued a day after the Supreme Court agreed to hear his plea for an expeditious decision on the matter.

The petition, submitted on June 18, 2026, was filed under Rule 6 of the Members of Lok Sabha Disqualification on Ground of Defection Rules, 1985. It seeks action against the MPs under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution for joining the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a Tripura-based political outfit. The Lok Sabha Secretariat, in its communication, forwarded a copy of the petition to the MPs and requested their comments for the Speaker's consideration, as per Rule 73 of the same rules.

The dispute stems from a rebellion within the TMC parliamentary party. Twenty of its Lok Sabha MPs announced they had joined or merged with the NCPI and sought separate recognition in the House. They have since been treated as an NCPI parliamentary group and have...