India, June 19 -- Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, along with some party MPs, met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday to express reservations with the merger announced by 20 rebel MPs.

After the meeting, Banerjee spoke at length and explained why he deems the merger "invalid". A recurring mention in his argument was the 10th Schedule of the Constitution. "The 10th Schedule is against them, against these people who claim to have formed a separate group," Banerjee told reporters as he held up a copy of the 20 different disqualification petitions he submitted before the Lok Sabha Speaker.

Banerjee countered the rebel MPs' claims on two grounds as he cited the 10th schedule:

Earlier this week, the 20 rebel lawmakers...