The opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has moved the Orissa High Court challenging Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy’s decision to dismiss its petition seeking the disqualification of eight party MLAs over alleged defiance of the party’s directives during the March Rajya Sabha elections.
BJD chief whip and senior MLA Pramila Mallik said she filed a writ petition before the High Court on Thursday, alleging that the Speaker had dismissed the plea “unilaterally” without providing the party an opportunity to be heard.
“We had sought disqualification of eight MLAs for their anti-party activities and for defying the collective decision of the party. The Speaker dismissed our petition without giving us a hearing,” Mallik told reporters on Friday.
BJD’s Allegations Against 8 MLAs
BJD MLA and former minister Arun Kumar Sahoo said the party was aware that there was no provision for a whip in Rajya Sabha elections and that legislators were free to vote according to their conscience.
However, he said the party’s case against the eight MLAs was based on allegations that they had defied party directives and skipped urgent meetings convened ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls.
The BJD had alleged that MLAs Chakramani Kanhar, Devi Ranjan Tripathy, Arvind Mohapatra, Sanatan Mahakud, Subasini Jena, Naba Kishore Mallick and Souvic Biswal, among others, had acted against the party’s official stand, attracting provisions of the anti-defection law under the Tenth Schedule.
Speaker Had Rejected BJD, Congress Petitions
In June, Speaker Surama Padhy dismissed separate disqualification petitions filed by the BJD and Congress against 11 MLAs — eight from the BJD and three from the Congress — over alleged cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha elections.
In a June 19 notification, the Assembly secretariat described the BJD petitions as “cryptic, vague, unsubstantiated” and said they did not meet the statutory requirements.
The notification also said the petitions failed to comply with mandatory provisions of the Members of Odisha Legislative Assembly (Disqualification on Ground of Defection) Rules, 1987, including prescribed verification requirements.
The Congress had separately sought the disqualification of Sofia Firdous, Ramesh Jena and Dasarath Gamang.
Rajya Sabha Election Cross-Voting Row
The 11 MLAs were accused of cross-voting during the March 16 election to four Rajya Sabha seats from Odisha.
The BJD, in an understanding with the Congress and CPI(M), had fielded urologist Dr Datteswar Hota as a joint Opposition candidate. However, Hota lost to BJP-backed independent candidate and former Union minister Dilip Ray.
The Opposition had alleged that cross-voting by some of its MLAs played a role in Ray’s victory.
The latest petition before the Orissa High Court challenges the Speaker’s decision concerning the eight BJD MLAs and seeks judicial intervention in the matter.
