Mahua slams rebel TMC MPs over delay in responding to disqualification notices

NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Wednesday slammed the party's rebel MPs for seeking additional time to respond to notices issued to them by the Lok Sabha secretariat.While talking to reporters, Mahua said that the rebel MPs' inability to respond within the stipulated period shows that they know they are in the wrong."We have filed 20 disqualification petitions against MPs who were elected on TMC tickets but joined hands with the BJP. The Lok Sabha Secretariat sent notices last week to them asking them to reply within seven days. The deadline is over, but they could not reply. Now they have sought another two-three weeks," Mahua said."We had written to the Lok Sabha Speaker in June. Why were they unable to reply in two months? Why does it take you more than one week to reply? If you ask me, I will not take so much time to reply," she added."The wigs and masks have come off. Their shamelessness and betrayal are for everyone to see," she said.This comes a day after TMC MP Sudip Bandhopadhyay said that the rebel MPs had sought an additional three weeks from the Lok Sabha secretariat to respond to notices issued on petitions filed by TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee seeking their disqualification.Last month, the Lok Sabha secretariat had issued notices to the MPs after the Supreme Court agreed to hear Abhishek Banerjee's plea seeking an expeditious decision by Speaker Om Birla on the disqualification petitions.The rebel MPs are understood to be consulting lawyers before submitting their replies, with the additional time sought by them potentially extending the legal battle over their continuation as members of the House.The dispute is part of a larger political confrontation within the TMC following the party's defeat in the West Bengal assembly polls earlier this year, with the dissident camp challenging the authority of the leadership headed by party supremo Mamata Banerjee.The 20 Lok Sabha MPs subsequently aligned themselves with the NCPI and joined the BJP-led NDA, prompting the TMC leadership to initiate disqualification proceedings under the anti-defection law.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.