The four rebel JDU legislators on Monday filed a petition in Patna High Court challenging the decision of Speaker Uday Narayan Choudhary to terminate their membership to the Assembly.
The four — Gyanendra Singh Gyanu (from Barh), Rahul Sharma (from Ghosi), Ravinder Rai (from Mahua) and Niraj Kumar Singh Bablu (from Chhatapur) — were on Saturday disqualified as members of the state’s Lower House.
The case, according to Gyanu, has been listed for hearing on Wednesday.
The four MLAs were charged of working against the party during the recent Rajya Sabha bypoll. On Sunday, they were expelled from the party.
“We have filed a petition in the high court challenging the decision of Assembly Speaker to terminate our membership,” Gyanu said on Monday.
Gyanu added: “We have challenged the Speaker’s decision mainly on three counts. First, as no violation of whip took place, cross-voting did not amount to infringement of the 10th Schedule provisions. Therefore, the Speaker has no right to interfere in the voting related matters inside the House as all the members voted in the Rajya Sabha bypolls according to their will. The Speaker’s ruling disqualifying us is misuse of the 10th Schedule provisions. Second, why action has been initiated only against eight MLAs though 18 legislators had indulged in cross-voting during the Rajya Sabha bypolls. The third point is that the Speaker, during his ruling, stated that all the four MLAs had left the party according to their will. If we left the party according to our will, why were we then expelled from the party?”
Moreover, as per the Speaker’s ruling, the four MLAs not only lost their membership to the House but also would not be “treated as former MLAs”. They would not be entitled to benefits of a former MLA. This has also been challenged in the high court by the rebel MLAs. Gyanu said no power could stop benefits, which accrue from being a former MLA. This is unconstitutional, he added.
Though 18 JDU MLAs had cross-voted during the recent Rajya Sabha bypolls in which all three JDU candidates had eventually managed to win with the RJD support, the party had complained to the Speaker about the four only. The four were earlier suspended from the party for six years.
Speaker Choudhary has called four other JDU MLAs — Poonam Devi, Ajit Kumar, Suresh Chanchal and Raju Kumar Singh — facing similar charges on November 22.
On the other hand, senior JDU leader and minister P.K. Shahi on Monday defended the act of Speaker, saying it was a constitutional action. However, an expelled MLA has every right to go to high court or the Supreme Court, he said.
Cattle care order
The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to ensure that cattle, exported from India to Nepal for sacrifice at Gadhimai festival in the neigbouring country, are not tortured and starved on their way, PTI reports. A bench headed by Justice J.S. Khehar directed solicitor general Ranjit Kumar to sit with the counsels of Bihar, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bengal, from where the cattle are sent, and formulate recommendations to prevent torture of the animals.
The court passed the order on a PIL alleging that a large number of cattle are exported illegally to Nepal for Gadhimai festival, which is held once in five years and is scheduled for November 28 and 29. Kumar informed the bench that only those people who have licence can be allowed to export cattle and order has been passed by the government to stop illegal “infiltration” of animals in the neighbouring country.
