Speaker disqualifies 4 rebel SP MLAs

Lucknow, Aug 19 (UNI) Just a day before the commencement of monsoon session of Uttar Pradesh assembly, Speaker Mata Prasad today disqualified four of the five rebel Samajwadi Party MLAs, who had cross-voted in the recent Rajya Sabha polls and attended a BSP meeting.

Altogether nine MLAs have been disqualified in the last three months by the speaker in the present house. Five Loktantrik Bahujan Dal (LBD) MLAs were disqualified in June for rejoining BSP.

The Speaker, who had reserved his judgement in the case of MLAs Ms Omvati, Ratan Lal Ahirwar, Kalyan Singh Dohre and Sunderlal on August 12, ruled their action was violation of Article 2(1)(A) of the 10th Schedule of Constitution and hence, warranted disqualification from the assembly.

Yesterday, Mr Pandey had fixed August 21 as the next date of hearing the case of fifth rebel MLA Kamlesh Pathak. His case was separated as the respondent had tendered an apology to SP for his action.

Pronouncing his 31-page judgement here, Mr Pandey said during the pleading, it was found the four MLAs had voluntarily left the SP and thus attracted the clause 2(1)(A) of the 10th Schedule of the constitution.

Referring to the Supreme Court, the Speaker said the apex court has also held that disloyalty to parent political party amounted to leaving the party and cross-voting by the four MLAs proved they had left the party.

Mr Pandey rejected the application of the four MLAs submitted on Thursday pleading to revive the hearing as they wanted to submit more details.

''As I had reserved my verdict on August 12 and asked their counsel to submit all relevent documents by August 14, there was no need of giving more time for hearing,'' he maintained.

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