Om Birla to expedite ruling on petitions against 20 rebel TMC MPs

Om Birla said he would expedite the disqualification proceedings after receiving the rebel MPs' responses. The dispute tests anti-defection safeguards amid rival claims of defection and merger.Image used for representational purposes onlyNewdelhi,Oct 22, 2026 17:22 ISTLok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said on Thursday that he would expedite a decision on the Trinamool Congress' petitions seeking the disqualification of 20 rebel MPs after receiving their responses, news agency Press Trust of India reported.The Supreme Court had on September 23 said it expected the Speaker to take an "expeditious" decision on the petitions against the MPs, who have joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India."We will hear from both sides. When the responses come from the members, we will expedite the process," Birla said at a press conference, according to PTI. He added that the matter was also under the Supreme Court's consideration.TMC leader in the Lok Sabha Abhishek Banerjee had submitted 20 separate petitions to the Speaker, seeking the MPs' disqualification under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. Banerjee argued that the MPs had voluntarily given up their TMC membership by joining another party and were therefore liable to be disqualified. He also urged the Speaker not to grant any recognition, status or facility to any group claiming to be a separate TMC faction.Banerjee later approached the Supreme Court, alleging a delay in deciding the disqualification proceedings against the MPs. He sought directions to the Speaker to decide the petitions in accordance with the Constitution's anti-defection provisions. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said it was aware that it could not direct the Lok Sabha Speaker, "but we just want to remind him about expeditious resolution".The dispute followed a rebellion within the TMC parliamentary party after its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections. Twenty of its Lok Sabha MPs announced that they had joined or merged with the NCPI, a little-known political outfit, and sought separate recognition in the House.The rebel MPs have since been treated as an NCPI group in Parliament and have participated in parliamentary activities of the ruling NDA. The TMC maintains that the MPs were elected on its symbol and that aligning with another political formation amounts to voluntarily giving up party membership, making them liable for disqualification under the anti-defection law. The rebel group, however, maintains that the move constitutes a valid merger.Birla has said the disqualification process will be expedited after the rebel MPs submit their responses, while the Supreme Court is also considering the matter.- Ends