India, Sept. 4 -- Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday granted time till September 22 to the 20 MPs of the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), following petitions filed by the Mamata-Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) seeking their disqualification under the anti-defection law.

The time was granted by the Speaker after the NCPI MPs asked for the extended period to reply to his August 26 notices that had sought their responses in seven days.

The Speaker has granted time till September 22 to the NCPI MPs to reply to the notices, sources in Parliament said. Birla sent the notices after TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee filed petitions seeking their disqualification.

The 20 rebel TMC MPs quit the Mamata Banerjee-led party in June f...