the Rajasthan High Court on Thursday issued notices to the Speaker and six MLAs who contested elections on a Bahujan Samaj Party and then merged with the Congress.

The court issued the notices while hearing a petition filed by the BSP against the merger of the MLAs into Rajasthan's ruling party.

They have to submit the replies by August 11 and submit their side of the case.

Sandeep Yadav, Wajib Ali, Deepchand Kheria, Lakhan Meena, Jogendra Awana and Rajendra Gudha won the assembly elections in 2018. In September 2019, the entire group of BSP MLAs joined the Congress.

BJP MLA Madan Dilawar complained to the Speaker, saying it violated the anti-defection law.

Speaker C P Joshi rejected the complaint, amid the current crisis in the state where Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is battling to retain a majority in the 200-MLA assembly.

Dilawar recently moved the high court and the BSP too has filed a petition against the merger.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)