Rajasthan: BJP MLA files two fresh petitions in High Court against Speaker’s decision on BSP MLAs joining Congress

Rajasthan: BJP MLA Madan Dilawar files two petitions in High Court against BSP-Congress merger. (Representational pic)

Rajasthan BJP MLA Madan Dilawar has filed two writ petitions challenging the assembly Speaker’s decision to reject his complaint against the merger of six BSP MLAs with the Congress.

The first petition was filed on Tuesday morning against a communication received from the assembly secretariat Monday that the complaint has been decided and rejected by the Speaker, the counsel for Dilawar said.

“Today, we got a detailed order of the Speaker (about the rejection of the complaint). Thereafter, we filed a second petition challenging the detailed order,” the counsel said on Tuesday.

Dilawar had filed his complaint to the Speaker in March, and on July 24, he moved the high court alleging inaction by the Speaker on the issue he raised. The High Court on Monday dismissed his petition as having become infructuous as the Speaker passed the order later on July 24.

In the fresh petitions filed on Tuesday against the Speaker’s order, the MLA has challenged the validity, legality and correctness of the Speaker’s July 24 order on his complaint filed in March.

In his complaint to the Speaker, he had prayed that the BSP MLAs be disqualified from the Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha under para 2 of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution.
Dilawar has alleged he was not heard by the Speaker before he decided his complaint on July 24.

On Monday, he had staged a dharna in the chamber of the assembly secretary to get a copy of the order and was given a communication saying that his complaint had been rejected. A detailed order was given to him Tuesday.

Sandeep Yadav, Wajib Ali, Deepchand Kheria, Lakhan Meena, Jogendra Awana and Rajendra Gudha successfully contested the 2018 assembly elections on BSP tickets, but they all defected to the Congress in September 2019. They submitted an application for merger on September 16, 2019 and the Speaker issued an order two days later.

The merger of BSP MLAs with the ruling Congress was a boost to the Ashok Gehlot-led government as the tally of Congress increased to 107 in the house of 200.