New Delhi, June 16 -- Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is reviewing the status of the 20 rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs and will make a decision after hearing both factions sources said on Tuesday.

According to sources, the Speaker's office has sent an email to the group of TMC MPs led by Mamata Banerjee, inviting them for a formal meeting. The Speaker is expected to take any decision regarding the rebel faction's request for a merger only after discussing the matter with the party's official leadership.

This follows a formal split in the party's Lok Sabha contingent, where 20 dissident MPs met the Speaker and submitted a letter requesting the merger of their group with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI).

Reacting sharply to ...