Plea filed in HC to stop 6 defecting' BSP MLAs function as Cong legislators

BJP MLA Madan Dilawar and the BSP on Tuesday moved a division bench of the Rajasthan High Court challenging an order of its single-judge bench which refused to put a stay on the functioning of the six BSP "defecting" MLAs as Congress legislators.

The two parties had earlier moved the high court challenging the state Assembly Speaker C P Joshi's September 2019 decision to allow the induction of the six BSP MLAs to the ruling Congress.

On the petitions by BJP MLA Dilawar and the Bahujan Samaj Party, the single-judge bench of Justice Mahendra Kumar Goyal had on July 30 sought the stands of the assembly Speaker, its secretary and the six defecting BSP MLAs, issuing them notices, returnable by August 11.

Justice Goyal, however, had not accepted the petitioners' plea to grant interim relief and put a stay on the six BSP MLAs' participation in the proceeding of the House as Congress legislators.

Dilawar and BSP national secretary Satish Mishra on Tuesday filed separate appeals and requested for the urgent listing of their pleas before a division bench headed by Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty.

Six BSP MLAs -- Sandeep Yadav, Wajib Ali, Deepchand Kheria, Lakhan Meena, Jogendra Awana and Rajendra Gudha had defected to the Congress in September last year and their induction to the Congress raised the ruling party tally to 107 in the House of 200 MLAs.

The assembly session in the state is to begin on August 14.