The Lok Sabha Secretariat has issued show-cause notices to 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs under India’s anti-defection law. The notices, dated August 25, followed separate petitions filed by Trinamool leader Abhishek Banerjee and require the MPs to respond within seven days. Copies of Banerjee’s June 18 petitions seeking their disqualification under the Constitution’s Tenth Schedule were attached.

The notices were issued under Rule 6 of the 1985 rules governing disqualification of Lok Sabha members for defection. After receiving the MPs’ responses, the matter will be placed before the Lok Sabha Speaker for consideration. The 20 MPs are reported to have joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India, although official Lok Sabha records still list them as Trinamool Congress members.

Trinamool MP Sagarika Ghose welcomed the notices and said disqualification should follow over alleged constitutional violations. On August 25, the Supreme Court sought a response from Speaker Om Birla on Banerjee’s request for an expedited decision. The court said the issue was not merely whether notices had been issued, but when and how the disqualification process would conclude.