Six Rajasthan BSP MLAs move SC for transferring plea questioning their merger with Congress

Six Rajasthan MLAs, who were elected on BSP ticket and subsequently merged with Congress, have approached the Supreme Court seeking transfer to the top court a petition filed in the High Court for their disqualification for alleged defiance of their party whip and supporting the Congress.

Lakhan Singh and five others have filed the petition for transferring the writ petition filed in the HC by BJP MLA Madan Dilawar, to the top court, as similar matters were pending before it.

The petition settled by senior advocate Devadatt Kamat, drawn by advocates Aditya Bhat, Rajesh Inamdar and Javedur Rehman and filed by Amit Pai contended that the provisions of the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law) of the Constitution could not be attracted since the entire legislature party of the BSP has merged with the INC.

Maintaining that the courts cannot examine questions of a purely political nature, the petitioners said there is no need for a political party outside the Legislature to merge with another political party.

"The merger of two-thirds of the legislature party with another political party would suffice for not attracting disqualification, even if the parent political party does not merge with another political party," they said.

Speaker of Rajasthan Assembly, C P Joshi and Congress Party's chief Mahesh Joshi have already approached the top court against the High Court's order to consider a plea by rebel Congress MLAs led by Sachin Pilot challenging validity of the anti-defection law for stifling their fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression.

The six MLAs who merged with the ruling Congress party said the entire purport of the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution was only to examine the evil of political defections, and the recognition to political parties is only limited to those in the legislative chamber, and no more.