The decision of the Janata Dal (Secular) to take the legal route seeking disqualification of the seven rebel legislators has made the next week’s elections to the four seats of the Rajya Sabha from the State interesting.
On Thursday, the party, which had allowed the matter to rest for nearly two years, urged Speaker K.B. Koliwad to prevent the seven legislators from voting and also to urgently hear the disqualification matter. This request, however, has been termed as “not legal” by the Speaker.
The JD(S) in 2016 filed a petition seeking disqualification of B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan, Akhanda Srinivas Murthy, Iqbal Ansari, Bheema Naik, N. Cheluvaraya Swamy, H.C. Balakrishna, and Babu Bandisidde Gowda after they violated the party’s whip and voted for the Congress candidate during the Rajya Sabha elections.
JD(S) legislators C.N. Balakrishna (Shravanabelogola) and B.B. Ningaiah (Mudigere) submitted the petition urging the Speaker to not allow the seven legislators from voting since they had ceased to be members of the Assembly on account of the violation of the whip issued by the JD(S) in the last elections held to the Rajya Sabha and their action had not been condoned by the party. “Since the matter is very urgent, a direction should be issued to the seven members within two days, asking them not to vote,” the petition stated.
According to sources in the party, the decision to seek the Speaker’s intervention to prevent the rebel legislators from casting their vote was to build pressure on the Congress, which without these seven rebel candidates will not be able to get its third candidate, G.C. Chandrashekar, elected. “In case the Speaker does not provide any relief, the party is set to go the High Court,” sources said.
Mr. Koliwad told The Hindu that under the law, members cannot be asked not to vote. “A disqualification petition is pending. Hearing in the case is not complete and arguments have not taken place. Unless the members are disqualified they are considered as members and they have the right to vote,” he said.
