SC ruling on MLAs: Cong asks Mulayam's removal

Lucknow, Feb 15: The Congress today demanded the dismissal of the Mulayam Singh Yadav government following a Supreme Court judgement disqualifying 13 MLAs of the Loktantrik Bahujan Dal (LBD) who had helped the Samajwadi Party form a government in 2003.

A Congress delegation met Governor T V Rajeswar here and handed him a memorandum to this effect. ''The SC ruling is clear.

While the 13 MLAs have been disqualified since Auguat 27, 2003, the rest of the 24 MLAs stand disqualified the day they handed over their letter of support for the Mulayam Singh government to the Speaker,'' said Congress Legislature Party leader Pramod Tiwari after meeting the Governor.

UP Congress president Salman Khurshid said the question now was not about the government being in a minority. ''In fact the government had along being illegal.'' The Congress also termed the development a ''constitutional crisis.'' ''In a bid to maintain democratic norms, the Chief Minister should immediately step down,'' Mr Tiwari said.

He said by disqualifying 13 BSP MLAs, who had split to join SP, the remaining 24 MLAs automatically stood disqualified.

The apex court, dismissing the appeals of the 37 MLAs against the Allahabad High Court judgement dated February 28, 2006, held that in the circumstances of the present case there was no such split.

The High Court had directed the Speaker to decide the complaint of the BSP against the 13 MLAs who defected on August 27, 2003, before deciding the fate of the remaining MLAs of the breakaway group.

Then UP Assembly Speaker Kesari Nath Tripathi had, instead of deciding the complaint of the BSP, waited till September 6, 2003. By then the strength of the breakaway group had gone upto 42.

Mr Tripathi held that since the strength of the breakaway group was more than one third of the total strength of the BSP in the Assembly, there was a split in Mayawati's party and not defection.

The Speaker's decision was challenged by the BSP in the High Court.

The High Court directed the Speaker to decide the fate of the 13 MLAs who had defected on August 27, 2003 and then decide the fate of the rest.

Five of the 42 MLAs had gone back to the parent party after the High Court's verdict. They were later disqualified by the Speaker and they also challenged their disqualification by the Speaker in the Supreme Court.

Former UP Chief Minister and BSP Supremo Mayawati had alleged that the defections had been engineered by Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav through corrupt means. All the defecting MLAs were made either ministers or appointed as chairpersons of various boards and PSUs in the state with cabinet rank.

Though the apex court has not specifically clarified the fate of the remaining 24 MLAs, by the implication of the judgment they also stand disqualified.

UNI