Rajasthan political crisis: BJP questions disqualification move against Sachin Pilot, rebel Congress MLAs
Sachin Pilot and his band of MLAs were accused of violating the party whip, thereby inviting disqualification from the assembly.
FollowJaipur: Absence from a legislature party meeting can't be a ground for disqualification from the state assembly, said Rajasthan BJP chief Satish Poonia raising a question over notices sent to rebel Congress leader Sachin Pilot and his supporter MLAs in this regard.
Rajasthan Speaker CP Joshi issued notices to Sachin Pilot and other rebel Congress MLAs after the party sought their disqualification from the state assembly.
Sacked deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and the other MLAs were asked to respond to the notices by Friday (July 17), sources said. The notices were issued on Wednesday (July 15).
Congress sources said Pilot and 18 other MLAs had defied a whip and did not attend its legislature party meetings.
Reacting to the development, Poonia said, "Absence of MLAs in the legislature party meeting is not a reason for their disqualification. It shows ill-intentions of the assembly Speaker. We are examining the legal aspect of the action.
Poonia said the BJP will try to ensure that the constitutional limits are not violated.
The Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Gulab Chand Kataria, said the Speaker can only take action if there is a violation of the party whip in the assembly.
He said it was neither proper nor legal for the Speaker to issue notices to the Congress MLAs and he has acted outside his jurisdiction.
The Rajasthan Congress is in turmoil over the past few days. While chief minister Ashok Gehlot has blamed the BJP for attempting to destabilise the state government by poaching MLAs, Pilot has been camping in Delhi.
A controversy broke out in Rajasthan after a special operation group (SOG) sent a notice to Pilot to record his statement in the case registered by SOG in the alleged poaching of Congress MLAs in the state.
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