NDA ranks boosted as Om Birla okays 6 rebel UBT MPs joining Shiv Sena

NEW DELHI: In a boost for BJP-led NDA's ranks in the Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla on Saturday recognised the six rebel Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs' decision to join Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, even as he is yet to take a final call on the merger of 20 rebel TMC MPs with little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI).However, Birla has decided to accept the rebel TMC faction's demand that they be allotted separate seats in the Lok Sabha as part of NDA, which for all practical purposes means that they can vote with the governing alliance on key issues, including the Constitution Amendment Bill for raising the maximum strength of the House to 850 if govt introduces it.Official sources said their merger with NCPI is still being examined.The rebel faction will also be attending the customary all-party meeting called by govt on Sunday to exchange views with opposition parties, which are left bitter over split in their ranks and for which they have blamed BJP, over the session's tentative agenda.

TMC rebel issue under Speaker consideration

Sudip Bandyopadhyay, who earlier in the day met PM Narendra Modi, said he and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar will be attending the meeting. Sources in rebel TMC claimed that Modi welcomed him to NDA.

Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju's letter to Sudip for attending the all-party meeting addressed him as NCPI leader. He wrote that Sudip and 19 other MPs have joined NCPI and have requested Birla for its recognition, and the matter is under Speaker's consideration.Shiv Sena (UBT) had met Birla to demand disqualification of its six rebel MPs, claiming that any merger must be initiated by the party's organisation and not parliamentary party. A similar case has been made by Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress against its rebels. However, Birla, at least in the case of Shiv Sena rebels, has decided to go by the opinion that two-thirds of a parliamentary party can join another party.