Cong petition to disqualify MLAs: May take decision before monsoon session, says HP Assembly speaker

Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Vipin Parmar on Friday said he would study the Congress petition to disqualify two independent MLAS who had joined BJP last month and try to take a decision ahead of the Monsoon session scheduled to begin from August 10.

"I will study the petition. Only after that, I will come to know exactly what they have said. The decision on the petition will be taken as per rules after studying it," Parmar told PTI.

The speaker added that he would try to take decision on the petition before the coming Monsoon session.

The state Congress on Thursday filed the petition before the speaker seeking disqualification of Dehra MLA Hoshiyar Singh and Joginder Nagar MLA Prakash Rana who had joined the ruling BJP on June 8.

In its petition filed through Rampur MLA and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) secretary Nand Lal, the Congress stated that the MLAs had joined the BJP in utter disregard of the Constitution.

This is in contravention to the Anti-Defection Law, it had said.

Clause 2 sub-clause 2 of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution prohibits an independent MLA from joining a particular political party after being elected, it added.

It is our request that the two MLAs be declared disqualified from the membership of the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, it had said.

The two independent legislators joined the BJP in the presence of Chief Minister Jairam Thakur and state party president Suresh Kashyap.

The official website of the state Assembly, however, still shows the two MLAs as independents. The website shows 43 BJP MLAs, Congress 22, independent two and CPI(M) one MLA in the 68-member Assembly.

During their joining, Thakur had said the independent legislators' joining would make the party and the government stronger.

Similarly, the state BJP president Kashyap had said both Singh and Rana had been supporting the party in the Assembly for long and they have now officially joined it.

The upcoming Assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh are scheduled this year and the last Monsoon session of this Assembly will be held from August 10 to 13.