Om Birla Gives 20 Rebel TMC MPs Till September 22 To Respond To Disqualification Pleas

Last Updated:September 03, 2026, 6:09 PM IST

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has granted TMC rebel MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay time till September 22 to respond to a disqualification petition filed under the Tenth Schedule.

Om Birla grants rebel TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay time till September 22 to reply to disqualification plea. (Photo: ANI)

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has granted rebel TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay an extension until September 22 to file his reply to a disqualification petition moved against him under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.

Bandyopadhyay, who merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), had sought an additional three weeks to respond to the petition.

According to a Lok Sabha Secretariat letter dated September 22, Joint Secretary Santosh Kumar informed Bandyopadhyay that the Speaker had accepted his request for an extension.

The letter said, “With reference to your letter dated September 1 for request of extension of time for 3 weeks i.e. up to September 22 to furnish the reply to the petition dated June 18 made by Abhishek Banerjee, MP and Leader of All India Trinamool Congress in Lok Sabha under the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution of India, I am directed to inform you that Hon’ble Speaker has acceded to your request for extension of time up to September 22 to file your reply to the petition.”

Abhishek Banerjee Moves Disqualification Petition

The disqualification petition against Bandyopadhyay was filed by TMC MP and Parliamentary Party leader Abhishek Banerjee on June 18 under the anti-defection provisions of the Tenth Schedule.

Earlier, Banerjee held a crucial meeting with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, with the discussion focusing on the TMC’s demand to expedite disqualification proceedings against 20 rebel MPs.

The 20-minute meeting came after the rebel MPs, led by veterans Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, broke ranks in June following internal turmoil over the election loss.

Rebel MPs Announce Merger With NCPI

The breakaway faction, representing more than two-thirds of TMC’s 28 Lok Sabha members, announced its merger with the Tripura-based Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) in an attempt to evade the Tenth Schedule, or Anti-Defection Law.

While Speaker Om Birla has granted separate seating to the 20 breakaway MPs in the House, he has not ratified the merger.

Banerjee has pressed the Speaker to expedite the disqualification petitions against the rebel MPs and revise the seating arrangements for the remaining eight loyalist TMC MPs.

Matter Also Taken Up Before Supreme Court

Banerjee had also approached the Supreme Court in the matter.

During the proceedings, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Secretary General of the House, informed the bench that the Speaker had already issued notices to the 20 MPs on the disqualification petitions filed by the TMC under the Tenth Schedule.

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How does the Tenth Schedule impact party mergers?

Under the Tenth Schedule, legislators are protected from disqualification if their original political party merges with another party. This exemption applies if the member joins the new merged party or continues as a separate group. However, the law stipulates that a political party can merge, but a group of legislators cannot do so on their own. For a merger to shield legislators from disqualification, at least two-thirds of the members of the legislature party must agree to it.

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