TMC and Shiv Sena (UBT) had demanded that their rebel MPs should be disqualified Times Now reported earlier today that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla would make a decision on the status of rebel MPs of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Shiv Sena (UBT) today. The Trinamool Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) have been hit by a wave of defections. As many as 20 MPs, out of the total 29 Lok Sabha MPs who were elected on the TMC's ticket, broke away and joined a little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). They had sought a separate seating arrangement in the Parliament and had expressed their desire to join the ruling NDA. In case of the Shiv Sena (UBT), a total of nine MPs got elected on the party tickets, of which six have joined the rival Shiv Sena, headed by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Both the TMC and Shiv Sena (UBT) argued before the Speaker that their rebel MPs should be disqualified as their actions fall under the anti-defection law. The decision was expected to be announced before the Monsoon session. The Monsoon Session of the Parliament is set to begin on Monday. The session will begin on July 20 and will continue till August 13. Ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju invited Sudip Bandyopadhyay and 19 other Lok Sabha MPs, who have joined the NCPI, to attend the customary all-party meeting scheduled for Sunday. In a letter, Rijiju acknowledged that the group of 20 MPs had requested Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for recognition as the NCPI and invited them to participate in discussions on the legislative agenda for the upcoming Parliament session. Apoorva Shukla is a journalist at Times Now, where she thrives on dissecting political developments both at home and abroad. A graduate of Delhi Univ... View More