Uttar Pradesh to oppose jailed lawmakers attending Assembly sessions

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government will oppose the entry of jailed lawmakers in Assembly sessions and important legislative events, an official said on Friday.

Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar has issued a notice to the prosecution directorate.

As per the notice, prosecution officers have been asked to oppose the matters in the court related to jailed legislators seeking bail or permission to attend legislative events such as sessions, sources said.

The officers have been asked to take reference to the High Court ruling in the matter of the former legislator Shekhar Tiwari, wherein the court had observed that the lawmakers who are in jail have no legal right to attend legislative sessions.

The court had recently barred mafia-don-turned-politician, Mukhtar Ansari of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to attend the voting for the Rajya Sabha seats. Hari Om Yadav, a legislator of the Samajwadi Party (SP), was also denied permission for attending the biennial polls to cast his vote.

Opposition had alleged that this was done at the behest of the ruling party to prevent their MLAs from casting their votes in the close call elections, but the ruling party had said that the matter was in court and that they had nothing to do with it.