New Delhi, June 19 -- Trinamool Congress (TMC) National General Secretary, accompanied by party colleagues, met with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in Delhi on Friday to formally challenge the legitimacy of a breakaway faction of 20 TMC MPs.

The delegation, which included senior TMC leaders Kalyan Banerjee, Derek O'Brien, Mahua Moitra and Sougata Roy, sought to invalidate the rebels' claims of a merger with a previously unheard-of entity, the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI).

Banerjee noted that the party has filed 20 disqualification petitions against the rebels. He stated that the party is now awaiting the Speaker's deliberation, hoping that the constitutional process will be upheld.

While speaking to the media, he said, "Wheth...