Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Monday, 27 July wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, urging him to expeditiously decide on the disqualification petitions filed against 20 Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha members who defected to the National Citizens' Party of India (NCPI) shortly after the West Bengal Assembly election results were declared. The letter marks a formal escalation by the party in a case that has now remained without a hearing for over five weeks.

Background of the Defection

The 20 MPs in question were elected in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on Trinamool Congress tickets. Following the West Bengal Assembly poll results, they reportedly aligned themselves with the NCPI — described in Banerjee's letter as an unrecognised political formation with no representation or recognised status in Parliament or any state legislature. Disqualification has been sought under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution and Rule 6 of the Members of Lok Sabha (Disqualification on Ground of Defection) Rules, 1985.

What Abhishek Banerjee Argued

In his letter, Abhishek Banerjee — also the nephew of party supremo and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee — contended that the petitions were accompanied by a detailed factual and legal representation establishing why the defecting members' conduct attracts anti-defection provisions. He stressed that despite more than five weeks having elapsed since the petitions were filed, no hearing had been scheduled and no notice had been issued to the concerned members.

'Such continued inaction is a matter of grave concern. It is well settled that the Constitutional jurisdiction vested in the Hon'ble Speaker under Paragraph 6 of the Tenth Schedule is required to be exercised within a reasonable time so as to preserve the efficacy and purpose of the anti-defection law. An unduly prolonged pendency of disqualification proceedings frustrates the constitutional objective of the Tenth Schedule, permits the continuance of an uncertainty that the Constitution seeks to avoid, and risks rendering the safeguards embodied in the anti-defection law ineffective,' Banerjee wrote, according to reports.

The All-Party Meeting Flashpoint

Banerjee further flagged that the urgency of the matter had been heightened by a decision of the Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister to invite the 20 MPs as a separate group to an all-party meeting held on 19 July. He argued that such developments underscored the need for an expeditious determination, as the continued uncertainty over the members' status risked undermining both the Tenth Schedule's efficacy and the integrity of parliamentary proceedings.

What the Tenth Schedule Requires

India's anti-defection law, enshrined in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, empowers the Speaker to disqualify a member who voluntarily gives up party membership or votes against the party's direction. Constitutional jurisprudence has consistently held that the Speaker must decide such petitions within a reasonable timeframe. Critics argue that prolonged inaction effectively rewards defection by allowing members to continue drawing parliamentary privileges while their status remains unresolved.

What Happens Next

The ball is now in Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla's court. If the Speaker issues notices and schedules hearings, the matter could move swiftly; if inaction continues, Trinamool Congress may explore legal remedies before the courts. The outcome will have direct implications for the political standing of the 20 MPs and could set a precedent for how swiftly the Speaker's office acts on anti-defection petitions in future cases.