The Madhya Pradesh assembly secretariat on Thursday terminated the membership of Congress legislator Rajendra Bharti within hours of a Delhi court sentencing him to three years in jail in a fraud case, triggering sharp protests from the state Congress.
The assembly secretariat started working on the disqualification order after principal secretary Arvind Sharma returned to the secretariat late on Thursday night.
The Congress asked why the assembly secretariat could not wait for the next working day, or give Bharti an opportunity to seek relief from the high court. “The Congress party views this as an assault on democracy and vowed to challenge the decision at every constitutional and legal level,” the Leader of Opposition in the assembly Umang Singhar said on Friday.
The assembly notification cited Bharti’s conviction on April 2 by Special Judge Digvijay Singh of the CBI-09 (MP/MLA Cases), Rouse Avenue District Court, New Delhi, which sentenced him to three years in prison and imposed a fine of ₹1,00,000.
“In compliance with the order of the Supreme Court dated July 10, 2013, and under Article 191(1)(c) of the Constitution read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, Rajendra Bharti stands disqualified from the membership of the Legislative Assembly with effect from the said date, i.e., April 2. Consequently, one seat in the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly has fallen vacant,” the order said.
{{/usCountry}}“In compliance with the order of the Supreme Court dated July 10, 2013, and under Article 191(1)(c) of the Constitution read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, Rajendra Bharti stands disqualified from the membership of the Legislative Assembly with effect from the said date, i.e., April 2. Consequently, one seat in the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly has fallen vacant,” the order said.
{{/usCountry}}Singhar condemned the midnight proceedings, accusing the BJP of bypassing due process.
Some Congress leaders including Jitu Patwari had turned up at the assembly premises and confronted the bureaucrats.
A video clip of the confrontation released on social media shows the politicians demanding principal secretary Arvind Sharma explain the rush, but he left without responding. The formal disqualification order, dated April 2, was made public on Friday.