Rebel TMC MPs get 2 weeks, not 4, to reply to Speaker after SC nudge

• Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has granted 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs two more weeks to respond to disqualification petitions, rejecting their request for four weeks until 22 October.

• The MPs, including Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, have been asked to submit their replies by 8 October.

• The dispute over their status has also reached the Supreme Court, which has called for an early resolution of the disqualification proceedings.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has granted 20 rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs a further two weeks to respond to petitions seeking their disqualification under the anti-defection law, declining their request for a four-week extension until 22 October. The MPs must now submit their replies by 8 October.

The MPs, including erstwhile senior TMC leaders Bandyopadhyay and Ghosh Dastidar, had announced their decision to leave the TMC and join the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), while extending their support to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.

The Speaker had sought explanations from the MPs on the circumstances in which they left TMC and joined NCPI, and why the anti-defection provisions should not apply to them.

The MPs were initially given seven days to submit their replies. They were subsequently granted additional time, with the deadline extended to 22 September. After the deadline expired, the MPs sought another month to collect documents and prepare their responses. The Speaker has now allowed them two more weeks.

Ghosh Dastidar said the MPs had received the latest communication from the Speaker’s office and were preparing their response. "We have just received the letter. It states that the Speaker has asked for a response within two weeks. We are gathering all the necessary documents. We will submit our reply to the Speaker within the stipulated timeframe, though we will hold internal party discussions before doing so," she said.

The dispute over the MPs’ status has also reached the Supreme Court. TMC MP and general-secretary Abhishek Banerjee had approached the Speaker in June, seeking the disqualification of the 20 MPs. He later moved the Supreme Court, alleging a delay in deciding the petitions.

The TMC has maintained that the MPs, having been elected on the party’s ticket, effectively gave up their party membership by joining the NCPI. The rebel MPs, however, have sought recognition as a separate parliamentary group and disputed the basis of the disqualification proceedings.

The Supreme Court issued notices in the matter on 25 August. During a hearing on Wednesday, 23 September, the court stressed the need for an early resolution of the issue and indicated that the proceedings should be dealt with expeditiously.

TMC MP and advocate Kalyan Banerjee said the latest extension fell within the period referred to during the Supreme Court proceedings. "The Supreme Court had set a four-week timeframe, while also noting that the Speaker’s actions would be monitored. Within that period, the Speaker has granted two weeks. The NCPI MPs must submit their response within this time. We will announce our next course of action later," he said.

The issue began after the 20 MPs announced their move towards the NCPI. Though they have been allotted separate seats in the Lok Sabha, parliamentary records have continued to list them as TMC members, leaving their formal status unresolved.