The Hindu : National : High Court dismisses plea to disqualify 24 BSP rebels

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Saturday, Feb 24, 2007
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National

National

High Court dismisses plea to disqualify 24 BSP rebels

Allahabad: The Allahabad High Court on Friday dismissed a petition for disqualification of 24 rebel Bahujan Samaj Party MLAs in Uttar Pradesh who supported the Samajwadi Party and helped it form government in 2003.

Justices A. Kumar and Dilip Gupta rejected the petition seeking the disqualification of the MLAs, terming it unconstitutional. They said the ``reasons [for dismissing the writ] shall follow.''

The petitioners — former Allahabad University student leaders Raghunath Dwivedi and S.P. Goswami — contended that after 13 BSP rebels were disqualified by the Supreme Court on February 14, the remaining 24 did not have the requisite one-third strength of the BSP in the U.P. Assembly to effect a split.

They prayed a writ of quo warranto be issued declaring the 24 MLAs disqualified and they be barred from participating in the proceedings of the House, including in the no-confidence motion proposed on Monday. — PTI

SP welcomes ruling

Lucknow Special Correspondent reports:

The Samajwadi Party on Friday welcomed the Allahabad High Court judgment pertaining to the suo moto dismissal of the writ seeking the disqualification of 24 Loktantrik Bahujan Dal MLAs (formerly in the BSP).

Addressing a press conference, Agriculture Minister Ashok Bajpai justified the High Court verdict and said the SP stand had been vindicated that the Supreme Court disqualified only 13 LBD MLAs. He said the apex court said nothing on the status of the 24 other legislators.

He said the court verdict exposed the Opposition parties that were demanding the dismissal of the Mulayam Singh Government and imposition of President's rule.

Mr. Bajpai said a meeting of the SP MLAs and allies would be held here on February 25 to finalise the strategy for the next day's trial of strength on the floor of the Vidhan Sabha. Meanwhile, president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee Salman Khurshid told reporters here on Friday that despite the announcement of the Assembly election schedule, the Congress stuck to its stand that the Mulayam Singh Government was an unconstitutional Government in the light of the apex court's verdict. He said the Congress had done its homework but their were other practical considerations which could not be ignored.

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