UPA trust vote: MPs of various parties under fire

New Delhi, Jul 24 (UNI) MDMK, NLP,JD(S) and JD(U) today showed the door to their rebel MPs who had voted in favour of the UPA government during the trust vote in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

The developments came a day after the BJP expelled its eight MPs and the CPI(M) red-carded Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee for not toeing the party line.

The Marumalarchi DMK (MDMK), in Chennai, expelled rebel leaders and party MPs, L Ganesan and Gingee N Ramachandran, from the party for defying the party whip and voting in favour of the trust vote moved by the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre.

MDMK General Secretary Vaiko, in a statement said as the two MPs had defied the party whip while voting on the confidence motion on July 22, they were expelled from the primary membership of the party and relieved of all responsibilities.

In the Uttar Pradesh capital of Lucknow, the National Loktrantrik Party (NLP) expelled its lone Lok Sabha member Baleshwar Yadav from the party for defying its whip and voting for the UPA government in the Confidence Motion.

The party will also move a petition before the Speaker to terminate the membership of Mr Yadav, the Lok Sabha member from Padrauna seat in Uttar Pradesh, for defying the party line.

JD(S) MP M Shivanna also faced the heat as the party expelled him from its primary membership for violating the directive and voting in favour of the UPA government in the July 22 trust vote.

JD(S) Secretary General K Danish Ali said the decision was taken this morning and the party had authorised its Parliamentary Party leader M P Veerendra Kumar to proceed against Mr Shivanna's disqualification with the Lok Sabha Speaker's Office.

In Chandigarh, the BJP sought the disqualification of the eight expelled MPs under the anti-defection law.

The party filed eight separate petitions before the Speaker, urging him to initiate proceedings for their qualification under the anti-defection law, senior BJP leader Satya Pal Jain, who is former convenor of the Legal Cell of the party, said.

The Janata Dal (United) also expelled two of its rebel MPs Ram Swaroop Prasad and P P Koya for defying the party whip and voting in favour of the UPA government during the trust vote.

An emergency meeting of the National Office-bearers of the JD(U) chaired by Party president Sharad Yadav was held here at which the decision to this effect was taken.

Meanwhile, the Samajwadi Party(SP) is contemplating action against those MPs who had violated the party whip in the Lok Sabha.

''We are taking legal opinion before serving any notice on the defectors,''chief whip of SP in the House Mohan Singh told UNI.

As many as six SP MPs had crossed floor on July 22. Their choice was already well-known much before the trust motion was moved in the House.

The heat the trust vote generated was also felt in some parts of the national capital. Giving vent to the anger after the saffron party bit the dust in the trust vote, about a hundred odd activists of the youth wing of the BJP attacked residence of rebel party MP Chandrabhan Singh in high security North Avenue area this morning.

While several protestors were detained, 29 others were arrested later, said a senior police official.

Mr Chandrabhan, Parliamentarian from Madhya Pradesh, who had abstained from the July 22 'Vote of Confidence', later told mediapersons that the attackers wanted to kill him at the behest of Leader of the Opposition L K Advani and BJP president Rajnath Singh.

UNI TEAM RL AS1929