The shadow of disqualification of five Haryana Janhit Congress legislators looms large over four Independent members of the Vidhan Sabha, who have denied the allegations levelled by the BJP in their joint reply that they filed on last Friday in the Vidhan Sabha. The BJP has got a shot in the arm following a recent Punjab and Haryana High Court verdict that disqualified five HJC legislators, who had defected to the Congress after 2009 Assembly poll. The BJP is aiming at killing two birds with one stone, upping its ante against CM Virbhadra Singh, whose alleged case of money laundering will be coming up for hearing in the Delhi High Court on October 16. Speaker BB Butail has just two-and-a-half months to dispose of the BJP petition that seeks to disqualify all four independents on the plea that they violated the Anti-Defection Law. Sources said the four MLAs denied BJP allegations but accepted that “they were giving support to the CM from outside”. They submitted their joint reply because the Speaker had served notices on them after the BJP submitted a petition before him in September charging that “they violated Schedule 10 of the Constitution” and the Anti-defection Law. But they claimed that they did not join the Congress and were sitting in the Assembly on the allotted place. “We are giving outside support to Virbhadra Singh”. The BJP had demanded that the Vidhan Sabha should disqualify all four MLAs, Manohar Dhiman (Indora), Balbir Veram (Chopal), Pawan Kajal (Kangra) and Kirnesh Jang (Paonta Sahib). They were elected as independents but had now associated with the Congress, the BJP charged. “They have betrayed public trust and they deserve disqualification under Schedule 10 of the Constitution and their membership should be cancelled,” the BJP petition alleged, adding that “The CM had considered them as party members as all four MLAs had canvassed for the Congress during the last Lok Sabha election and issued statements in the media”.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 00:23:14 +0000
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