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The determination made by the rebel MPs of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to merge with the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) mightiness not beryllium a foolproof mode of avoiding disqualification nether the anti-defection law, but it tin let them to ballot successful the Lok Sabha, pending a determination from the Speaker successful lawsuit the TMC files a petition seeking their disqualification.
With sources successful the authorities indicating that the Centre is apt to bring the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty First Amendment) Bill, 2026 oregon the Delimitation Bill arsenic aboriginal arsenic the monsoon league of Parliament, which is apt to statesman successful mid-July, it becomes important that this bloc, which has promised enactment to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) gets to ballot erstwhile the said Bills are taken up. In April, the authorities had fallen abbreviated of the two-thirds bulk required for its passage.
On Sunday (June 14, 2026), the rebel TMC camp, led by Lok Sabha MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Sudip Bandopadhyay, had approached Speaker Om Birla, submitting the names of 20 MPs who marque up two-thirds of the TMC Parliamentary Party successful the House, that they would beryllium merging with the West Bengal-based NCPI.
However, experts accidental that, according to the 10th Schedule of the Constitution, amended known arsenic the anti-defection law, MPs unsocial cannot determine connected a merger, which has to beryllium carried retired astatine the level of the party. However, till the Speaker gives a ruling, the MPs tin ballot successful immoderate Bill which is taken up arsenic portion of authorities business.
“Under the 10th Schedule, lone the archetypal governmental enactment tin merge with different party, and thereafter the MPs oregon MLAs tin marque a assertion that their archetypal enactment has merged, and they hold to that merger, and person go members of that party. Thus, MPs unsocial cannot merge with immoderate different party. However, till the Speaker gives immoderate ruling, these MPs tin ballot successful favour of immoderate Bills which are taking up arsenic portion of the legislative business,” according to erstwhile Lok Sabha Secretary General and law instrumentality adept P.D.T. Achary.
The authorization to determine disqualification complaints rests solely with the Speaker oregon Chairperson of the respective House. Their determination is final. However, it tin beryllium challenged successful the courts.
The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC is yet to record a disqualification petition with the Speaker’s office.
The determination to merge helps the rebel bloc debar a agelong process, which would person ensued successful lawsuit they had approached the Election Commission of India (EC), and staked assertion to beryllium the ‘real Trinamool Congress’, particularly successful presumption of the Supreme Court judgement successful the lawsuit of the Shiv Sena’s divided successful Maharashtra.
The rebel MPs look to person chosen to merge with the NCPI to unafraid contiguous parliamentary designation arsenic a abstracted bloc alternatively than warring a long-drawn awesome conflict as, nether Para 15 of the Symbols Order, the EC relies connected the strict ineligible model of the 1971 Sadiq Ali ruling.
This look tests 3 things — the party’s objectives, its legislative majority, and its organisational bulk — a process that tin crook retired to beryllium long-drawn.
