Bhubaneswar, April 12: Odisha Assembly Speaker Pradip Amat today fixed April 22 as the next date of hearing on the issue of merger of the four NCP MLAs with the BJD.

The four MLAs — Amar Prasad Satpathy (Barchana), Ramchandra Hansdah (Saraskana), Prashant Nanda (Begunia) and Nabin Nanda (Gondia) — were present during today’s hearing. The NCP Odisha president Utkal Keshari Parida represented the party’s state unit.

Appearing on behalf of the four MLAs, advocate Upendra Samal said they should be given the liberty to file the counter affidavit in the case. Sources said Samal also said that as his clients had appointed him recently, he should be given more time to study the case. Satpathy said: “As we have been for the first time included directly as party to the case, our voice should be heard.”

However, NCP advocate Gopal Agarwal contested Samal’s views. He argued before the Speaker that as they had already been given enough time, they should file the counter affidavit tomorrow. “The Speaker served the notice to the MLAs on April 3 to appear on April 12. They should have come prepared with all documents today,” Samal said.

Hearing both the parties, Amat set April 22 as the next date of hearing.

Parida said: “The four MLAs have now adopted a dilatory tactics to delay the hearing. We hope that the Speaker will act judiciously and declare their merger with the BJD as null and void in the next hearing without delaying the case any more.”

The four MLAs left the NCP and joined the BJD on June 5, 2012. Parida filed an application before the Speaker on July 6, 2012, for disqualification of the four MLAs from membership of the legislative Assembly. Subsequently, Parida also filed four separate petitions in the high court in August 2012, alleging the Speaker’s inaction in the matter.

The Speaker took the plea that Parida had no locus standi to file the application for disqualification of the four MLAs as he was not a member of the Assembly. The high court, however, ruled that any interested person could file an application before the Speaker for disqualification of a member of the House and set an eight-week deadline for the Speaker to dispose of Parida’s application. But, the Speaker challenged it in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court rejected the plea and upheld the high court verdict.

On April 3, the high court sought clarification on non-compliance of its order by the Speaker, who was asked to take a decision on Parida’s application seeking disqualification of the four MLAs.