NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has issued notices to 20 rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs who are now affiliated with the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), seeking their responses within seven days to disqualification petitions filed by the TMC.The disqualification petitions are currently pending before Birla.This comes after Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that the Speaker had already issued notices to the 20 MPs on the disqualification petitions filed by the TMC under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.

Mehta made the submission before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant while appearing for the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Secretary General of the House.

The bench was hearing a plea filed by senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee, challenging the delay in deciding the petitions seeking the disqualification of the rebels.Responding to the submission, the bench said, "It is not a question of issuing notices, it is a question of concluding the proceedings within a time frame."During the hearing, the bench indicated that it was inclined to issue notices to the respondents on Abhishek Banerjee’s writ petition.

Mehta, however, submitted that there was no need to issue notices to the Speaker or his office, stating that he would appear on behalf of Birla.The TMC has accused the 20 MPs of “abandoning” the party and subsequently joining the NCPI. Abhishek Banerjee has contended that their conduct attracts disqualification under the anti-defection provisions of the Constitution.

The petition names the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Secretary General of the House as the principal respondents and also impleads the MPs whose disqualification is being sought.

The respondents are Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Satabdi Roy, Prasun Banerjee, Rachana Banerjee, Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia, Partha Bhowmick, Arup Chakraborty, Adhikari Deepak Dev, Sayani Ghosh, Bapi Haldar, Md Abu Taher Khan, Kalipada Saren Kherwal, Asit Kumar Mal, June Maliah, Mitali Bag, Khalilur Rahaman, Mala Roy, Sharmila Sarkar and Yusuf Pathan.(With ANI inputs)