Taking stern action against its six turncoat MLAs on the eve of four Rajya Sabha biennials slated for June 10, Bahujan Samaj Party in Rajasthan on Saturday issued a ‘whip’ directing its legislators who merged into the Congress party that they should neither give their vote to Congress nor to the BJP, but vote to an Independent candidate.
In his letter addressed to Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Speaker, and Secretary Vidhan Sabha here, Bhagwan Singh Baba, the state BSP President, asked six of its MLAs Rajendra Gudha, Lakhan Singh, Deepchand Kheria, Sandeep Yadav, Jogendra Singh Avana, and Vazib Ali to cast their vote to Independent candidate (a BJP supported Subhash Chandra, a media baron).
“If anyone (MLA) of you violates the whip, the party would ensure an action against as per the anti-defection law”, Baba said.
In his earlier letter to the Governor and the Assembly Speaker on June 1, Baba has
alleged that all six MLAs had unconstitutionally joined the Congress party and violated the Anti-Defection Law in 2019. And a case related to the validity of their membership in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly has been pending in the Supreme Court, he said.
In its SLP in the Supreme Court, BSP has alleged that a state unit of the National Political Party can not merge with another political party without the approval of the central leadership. Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Speaker’s decision to approve their Congress membership was ‘illegal’. A case was also filed against the merger in the Rajasthan High Court in which the Speaker had filed the reply in August 2020. The Assembly Chief Whip had already claimed that all six of them are Congress members undisputedly and the assembly has recognised their joining with the party in 2019.
On the other hand, four out of six BSP-turned-Congress MLAs have yet to join the Udaipur party assembly at a hotel where about 75 legislators have been camping since yesterday to avoid any poaching or horse-trading. RD Gudha, Wajib Ali, Sandeep Yadav, and Lakhan Singh have shown reluctance on the ground that the Gehlot government’s bureaucracy was ignoring them.
Even a Congress MLA Giriraj Malinga who surrendered in the Discom engineers assault case and was released on bail in Dholpur last month has also raised eyebrows saying, “Hamne Congress se 7 phere to liye nahin hain ki jindgi bhar saath nibhayenge. Mujhe sarkar bachane ka inam case jhel kar milaa. Another Congress MLA Ved Prakash Solanki who is said to be Sachin Pilot’s group, has also not reached the Udaipur camp of the party.
Congress’ Randeep Surjewala, Mukul Wasnik and Pramod Tiwari, BJP’s official candidate G S Tiwari, and BJP supported Independent Subhash Chandra, Media baron and Chairman of Essel group are vying for the four seats of RS as four sitting RS MPs (all BJP) would complete their term on July 4. BJP’s Om Prakash Mathur, K J Alphons, Ramkumar Verma and Harshvardhan Singh Dungarpur will retire on RS seats (from Rajasthan).