LS Speaker Om Birla allows rebel TMC leaders to sit separately

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla approved the 20 rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs' request for separate seating arrangements after they broke away from the Mamata Banerjee-led party. The rebel TMC MPs also announced a merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) but Birla is yet to recognise the merger. The arrangement comes ahead of the Parliament's Monsoon Session.