Odisha Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy rejected the disqualification petitions filed by the BJD and Congress against 11 MLAs accused of cross-voting in the recent Rajya Sabha elections.
She said the applications lacked complete details and failed to meet legal requirements under the anti-defection law.
The petitions sought cancellation of membership for BJD legislators Souvik Biswal, Devi Ranjan Tripathy, Sanatan Mahakud, Arvind Mohapatra, Subasini Jena, Ramakant Bhoi, Chakradhar Kanhar, and Nabakishore Mallick, along with Congress MLAs Sofia Firdous, Dasarathi Gamang, and Ramesh Chandra Jena.
Padhy stated that the applications did not include signatures on every page, lacked sworn affidavits, and failed to provide supporting evidence for the allegations. She clarified that the petitions were dismissed because they did not comply with procedural norms under the anti-defection provisions.
Both parties had alleged that the legislators violated their respective party whips by voting against official candidates during the Rajya Sabha polls. The Speaker’s decision effectively gives the accused MLAs a clean chit, ending weeks of speculation over possible disqualification.
