New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS) Four independent MPs, led by expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jaswant Singh, are hoping Speaker Meira Kumar would recognise their grouping 'Lok Morcha' as a single block.

Apart from Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh, the other members of the group are: former Jharkhand assembly speaker Inder Singh Namdhari, former union minister and Bihar MP Digvijay Singh and Maharashtra MP Raju Shetty.

Three of the independent MPs did not join the opposition parties in their walkout in the Lok Sabha Friday against the budget proposal for a fuel price hike.

'We hope that the speaker will recognise us as a single block,' Namdhari said.

He said the group had given a letter to Speaker Meira Kumar during the winter session of parliament requesting her to recognise Jaswant Singh as leader of their parliamentary forum after naming it Lok Morcha.

'As independent MPs we are not allocated enough time to raise people's issues in the house. The idea behind the forum is to be given more time to speak,' Namdhari told IANS.

'We know that it (getting recognition for the grouping) is a time-consuming process and hope it would be materialised,' Namdhari said.

While Jaswant Singh, Digvijay Singh and Namdhari did not join other opposition parties in their walkout, Raju Shetty did join the protesters.

Namdhari justified Raju Shetty's action saying 'Raju just joined the crowd'.

Shetty belongs to the Swabhiman Paksha party in Maharashtra, but he is part of the Lok Morcha grouping.

There are nine independent MPs in the Lok Sabha, but Jaswant Singh and Shetty are not considered independent members.