Archive · 3 Sep 2026
Speaker Gives 20 Rebel TMC MPs Until September 22
Twenty lawmakers who left the Trinamool Congress are facing requests for disqualification.
Disqualification could mean losing their seats under India’s anti-defection rules.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had asked them to answer the requests within seven days.
The lawmakers asked for more time to prepare their replies.
Birla has now given them until September 22.
TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee filed the requests against them.
The lawmakers left TMC in June and joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India.
They now say they support the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.
The Supreme Court of India has asked that the proceedings be handled quickly.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla gave 20 rebel TMC MPs until September 22 to respond to disqualification notices.
The notices followed petitions by TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee under India’s anti-defection law.
The MPs left the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC in June and joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India.
The Supreme Court of India had urged expeditious action after agreeing to hear Banerjee’s plea on August 25.
The MPs have declared allegiance to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and are considering legal arguments.
- Who
- Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee, and 20 former TMC MPs who joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India.
- What
- Birla extended the deadline for the 20 MPs to answer petitions seeking their disqualification under the anti-defection law.
- When
- The new deadline is September 22; the notices were issued on August 26 after the Supreme Court of India acted on August 25.
- Where
- The proceedings are before the Lok Sabha Speaker in India.
- Why
- Abhishek Banerjee sought the MPs’ disqualification after they left the TMC and joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India.
TMC petitioners
Rebel MPs
Disqualification proceedings
TMC petitioners
TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee has asked the Speaker to disqualify the 20 MPs under the anti-defection law after they left TMC and joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India.
Rebel MPs
The MPs requested more time to respond to the notices and are reportedly seeking legal opinions on whether the anti-defection provisions apply to their case.
Political alignment
TMC petitioners
The petitions follow a broader rupture within TMC after its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly election.
Rebel MPs
The MPs have declared allegiance to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and have sought to demonstrate substantial support among elected representatives.
- Deadline
- September 22
- MPs involved
- 20 former TMC MPs
- Speaker
- Om Birla
- Petitioner
- TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee
- Notice date
- August 26
- Alleged party change
- The MPs left TMC in June and joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India
- Declared alliance
- The MPs have announced allegiance to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance