Calcutta, Sept. 20: Congress leader Abdul Mannan today said he would move the Supreme Court seeking amendments in the anti-defection law, his decision coming in the wake of a series of crossovers from the party.

Mannan, the leader of the Opposition, said he would leave for Delhi tomorrow and meet senior lawyers of the Congress high command before moving the apex court.

"We would like the judiciary to intervene and make the anti-defection provisions foolproof. These people are leaving so easily because they do not fear the prospect of facing re-elections anytime soon. In Bengal, the law is almost never invoked nowadays," Mannan said.

Introduced by the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1985, the anti-defection law lays down the process by which legislators may be disqualified on grounds of defection. But the 91st Constitutional Amendment Act of 2003 changed the law somewhat, saying defection by two-thirds of the elected members of a political party amounted to a merger.

Sources said Mannan wanted this clause changed so that every elected member who switched allegiance to another party is stripped of his membership "immediately" and faces election.

"Every defection should be followed by disqualification of membership and a repoll. The House should not wait to see if a merger is taking place," said former Calcutta mayor and advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya, who is likely to appear for Mannan in the court.

Earlier today, Mannan told a news conference that six-time Congress MLA Manas Bhuniya, who joined Trinamul yesterday, would be showcaused.

"Trinamul should come up with a list of MLAs who joined the party recently and announce their updated membership count in the floor of the House," he said.

The leader of the Opposition said people who had voted for the Congress leaders who later switched allegiance had the right to know the party their leaders represented.

"The voters of the defector MLAs are now likely to file cases in the high court," he said.

Unlike Mannan, who was critical of Bhuniya, Congress Lok Sabha MP and President Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit Mukherjee dubbed the Sabang MLA's defection a "great loss" for the party.

"We are disappointed. I don't believe that the party does not face any loss from his defection. It's a great loss," said Mukherjee.