HC sends notices to Rajasthan speaker, 6 BSP MLAs who joined Congress

Jaipur, July 30: The Rajasthan High Court on Thursday issued notices to the speaker and secretary of the state legislative assembly and six MLAs, who contested elections on BSP tickets and then defected to the Congress.

The court issued the notices while hearing the writ petitions filed by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and BJP MLA Madan Dilawar against the six lawmakers defecting to the Congress.

"The notices have been issued to the speaker and secretary of the Assembly and six MLAs. They have to submit their replies by August 11," a counsel for Dilawar told reporters here.

In his petition, Dilawar has also challenged the speaker's July 24 decision to reject his complaint filed in March against the BSP MLAs joining the Congress.

The bench of Justice Mahendra Kumar Goyal issued the notices while hearing the petitions. Separate notices have been issued on the petitions.

The court heard the arguments on Wednesday, which remained inconclusive, and the hearing resumed on Thursday. The next hearing in the matter is on August 11.

The merger of the BSP MLAs with the Congress was a boost for the Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan government as the tally of the ruling party increased to 107 in the 200-member House.