HC rejects plea on BSP MLAS’ merger
nJAIPUR: The Rajasthan high court on Monday dismissed a petition by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator who questioned speaker CP Joshi’s alleged inaction over the merger of all six Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLAS in the state with the Congress last year.
The decision came hours after the speaker upheld the merger while responding to the complaint by BJP leader Madan Dilawar filed in March, according to the lawmaker. Dilawar’s petition in the HC sought a direction to the speaker to act on his complaint.
The move is a boost for the Ashok Gehlot-led government which retains its tenuous majority in the house even as it fights a legal battle concerning the disqualification of a rebel group of 19 Congress lawmakers led by former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot.
In his petition filed in the HC on Friday, Dilawar said the speaker declared the six BSP MLAS – Sandeep Yadav (Tijara), Wajib Ali (Nagar), Deepchand Kheria (Kisangarh Bas), Lakhanmeena (Karauli) and Rajendrasingh Gudha (Udaipurwati) — as having merged with the Congress on September 18, 2019. The move increased the Congress’s strength in the House.
Earlier, Dilawar, the MLA from Ramganj Mandi constituency in Kota district, petitioned the speaker on March 16, seeking disqualification of the BSP MLAS under the 10th schedule of the Constitution (anti-defection laws). The speaker did not decide on the petition until Monday.
Around noon on Monday, Dilawar staged a sit-in at the office of the assembly secretary, PK Mathur. “The secretary told me that my petition had been dismissed. He told me that a detailed order will be provided on email. I am waiting for that,” Dilawar said.
Later in the day, a single-member bench of Justice Mahendra Kumar Goyal disposed of Dilawar’s petition as the speaker had decided on the MLA’S complaint.
State BSP president Bhagwan Singh Baba said the state unit will inform party chief Mayawati about the court’s decision. “The party high command will decide the further strategy,” he said.
At the time of the merger in 2019, Mayawati accused Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot of horse-trading.
In 2008, too, six BSP lawmakers merged their party with the Congress in the assembly. Gehlot was the chief minister then.
In a related development, BSP general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra issued a whip on Sunday, asking the six MLAS to vote against the Gehlot government if there was a floor test.
He added that the MLAS were elected on the symbol of the BSP and were bound by a party whip. Mishra said under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution, local units of a party cannot merge with another outfit if there is no merger at the national level.
Legal expert Akhil Chaudhary disagreed and said that the BSP legislature party “is independent and not subordinate to its national presence or leadership”. The law also says “two-thirds of the members of the legislature party” are eligible to join another political party or form a separate party, he added.
“Therefore, there is no question over merger of the political party at a regional or national level,” added Chaudhary.
nNEW DELHI: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday said that her comments against the Bharatiya Janata Party allegedly trying to topple democratically-elected governments, during a pandemic, were “lost in translation”.
Participating in her party’s ‘#Speakupfordemocracy’ campaign on social media on Sunday, Priyanka Gandhi had said, “Leadership is recognised in times of crisis. During coronavirus pandemic, the country needs a leadership that works in the public interest. But the Bjp-led central government has made its intention clear by trying to topple the governments elected by the people. The public will answer.”
Reacting to her tweet, National Conference leader and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah said, “I don’t get the whole “during pandemic” argument. As though somehow toppling an elected government would be less reprehensible if we weren’t battling a health crisis. IMHO it’s wrong regardless of COVID.”
Clarifying her tweet, Priyanka Gandhi said, “You’re absolutely right @omarabdullah. What I actually said was that leadership becomes evident during a crisis, and while the pandemic is on, the nation needs a leadership that works in interest of its people.”
“However, the BJP government has been busy trying to topple democratically elected governments, revealing its true mindset and character. It seems my point got lost in translation,” Priyanka Gandhi said.
The Congress has launched a nationwide campaign in protest against the alleged attempts by the BJP to topple the Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan.
Congress is also holding demonstrations in front of Raj Bhawans across the country to protest against Rajasthan governor Kalraj Mishra’s allegedly “delaying tactics” in convening the assembly session to enable Gehlot to prove his majority in the House.
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What I actually said was that leadership becomes evident during a crisis...the nation needs a leadership that works in interest of its people
PRIYANKA GANDHI VADRA, Congress leader