Rebel Rajasthan MLAs move HC against Speaker’s notices
We have not given up our membership of the House, they tell the court
Amid the worsening political crisis in Rajasthan, rebel Congress leader Sachin Pilot and 18 other dissident MLAs moved the High Court on Thursday challenging the disqualification notices issued to them by the Assembly Speaker. The Pilot camp contended that they could not be disqualified merely for disagreeing with the decisions and policies of some leaders outside the Assembly. Speaker C.P. Joshi issued the notices on Wednesday on a plea filed by Congress Chief Whip Mahesh Joshi citing the MLAs’ absence from successive Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meetings and a “conspiracy to bring down the government”. The 19 MLAs, including Mr. Pilot and former Ministers Vishvendra Singh and Ramesh Meena, were given time till Friday afternoon to respond. In their writ petition, the legislators sought quashing of the notices, arguing that they had neither given up their membership of the House nor did their failure to attend the two CLP meetings render them liable for disqualification on the
ground of defection. The matter was listed for hearing before a Division Bench of the High Court, headed by Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty, on Friday after the petition first came up before a Single Bench on Thursday. The court referred the case to the Division Bench when petitioners’ counsel Harish Salve, appearing through video conferencing, said they wanted to challenge the constitutional validity of some provisions as well. Accordingly, the writ petition was amended and filed again to challenge the Speaker’s notices as well as the validity of the Rajasthan As
sembly Members (Disqualification on the Grounds of Changing Party) Rules, 1989, and Clause 2(1) (a) of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, dealing with disqualification on the ground of defection. Mr. Joshi, who filed the application before the Speaker, also approached the court to be impleaded as a party and be heard before any order is passed. If the rebel MLAs are disqualified, the majority mark in the 200member Assembly will decline, making it easier for Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to win a floor test.
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