Odisha Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy rejected the Biju Janata Dal’s disqualification plea against eight legislators accused of cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha elections held in March.
The ruling delivered a setback to the BJD, which had sought action under the anti-defection law.
The party alleged that the MLAs defied its directive and voted for BJP-backed Independent candidate Dilip Ray. Following the incident, BJD suspended the legislators and filed a petition demanding their removal from the Assembly. In April, Opposition Chief Whip Pramila Mallick led a delegation to submit the formal plea.
Six MLAs faced suspension specifically for cross-voting: Chakramani Kanhar (Baliguda), Naba Kishore Mallick (Jayadev), Souvic Biswal (Choudwar-Cuttack), Subasini Jena (Basta), Ramakanta Bhoi (Tirtol), and Devi Ranjan Tripathy (Banki). Two others, Arvind Mohapatra (Patkura) and Sanatan Mahakud (Champua), had earlier been suspended for anti-party activities.
