NEW DELHI, April 27 -- The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has submitted a petition to the Rajya Sabha chairman, seeking the disqualification of its seven MPs, who quit the party on Friday and announced a merger with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The petition challenged the "purported merger" under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution and sought the disqualification of the MPs under its paragraph 2(1)(a).

Paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule deals with disqualification on the ground of defection. Sub-paragraph (1) provides that, subject to the provisions of paragraphs 4 and 5, a member of a House belonging to any political party shall be disqualified from being a member of the House.

Addressing a press conference, Sanjay Singh, AAP's leader in the ...