BJP to seek disqualification of caste-hopping Congress MLA

The BJP in Madhya Pradesh is seeking disqualification of Congress MLA Jajpal Singh Jajji from the assembly for allegedly changing his caste on different occasions for political gains.

The move by the main opposition party comes in the backdrop of the Assembly speaker disqualifying BJP legislator Prahlad Lodhi from the House following his conviction in a criminal offence. His conviction by the trial court was later stayed by the high court.

"We are going to petition the Election Commission and the Madhya Pradesh High Court to get Jajji disqualified from the legislature.

"Our state leaders are now discussing how to take the matter forward and get the Congress MLA ousted from the House," MP BJP chief spokesman Deepak Vijayvargiya said on Monday.

Jajji, the sitting MLA from Ashoknagar, has changed his caste on different occasions to gain politically, he said.

He first got elected as a Janpad (council) member under the general quota and then became the Ashoknagar Municipal Council president, a post reserved for OBCs, by claiming to be a member of the Keer caste, Vijayvargiya claimed.

Thereafter, in 2013, he unsuccessfully contested from the Ashoknagar assembly seat, reserved for Scheduled Castes, by producing a false caste certificate, the BJP chief spokesman alleged.

Last year, Jajji contested from the same seat - Ashoknagar (SC) - on a Congress ticket and won, he said.

When contacted, state Congress spokesman Bhupendra Gupta said let the competent authority decide the matter related to Jajji's caste, and also hit out at the BJP.

"It is like the pot calling the kettle black. What was the BJP doing when Jyoti Dhurve became MP from Betul on fake caste certificate in the previous Lok Sabha election (2014). It shielded her," Gupta said.

Recently, a court in Bhopal convicted Lodhi and 12 others and sentenced him to two years in jail for attacking the tehsildar (revenue official) of Raipura in August 2014.

Following the conviction, the Assembly speaker disqualified the MLA from Pawai in Panna district from the House.

However, on an appeal filed by him, the Madhya Pradesh high court stayed the conviction and two-year sentence of Lodhi till January 7, and granted him bail.

With Lodhi's disqualification, the BJPs strength in the 230-member assembly came down to 107. The saffron party had won 109 seats in last year's assembly polls, but later lost the Jhabua assembly bypoll to the Congress.

The Congress tally rose to 115, one short of the simple majority mark, after it wrested Jhabua from the BJP in the last month's bypoll.

The Congress government is surviving on support of 2 BSP MLAs, one of the SP and four Independent MLAs.