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Another setback for BJP in MP as Cong demands legislator’s disqualification after conviction
Prahlad Lodhi, the BJP MLA from Pawai constituency in Panna district, was sentenced by a special court in Bhopal on Thursday.
The Congress’ Madhya Pradesh unit has demanded the disqualification of one the BJP’s legislators from the state assembly after he was handed over a two-year jail term for attacking a government official in an illegal sand mining case five years ago.
The demand by the ruling Congress has come as a setback for the Bharatiya Janata Party close on the heels of its defeat in the Jhabua state assembly seat by-poll earlier this month.
Prahlad Lodhi, the BJP MLA from Pawai constituency in Panna district, was sentenced by a special court in Bhopal on Thursday.
He was sentenced in connection with charges that he had abused and beaten a revenue officer RK Verma posted at Raipura in Panna district when the latter seized a tractor and a trolley laden with illegally mined sand in 2014.
Charges against Lodhi were framed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in 2016. After he became an MLA in 2018, the case was transferred to the special court in Bhopal.
The court handed the sentence under section 8(3) of Representation of People Act, 1951.
“A person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years (other than any offence referred to in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) ) shall be disqualified from the date of such conviction and shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years since his release,” the section says.
An officer of the law department said the Supreme Court made it clear in July 2018 that a lawmaker will stand disqualified from the membership of the House if his conviction in a criminal case was not stayed.
However, as per an earlier judgment delivered in July 2013 in Lily Thomas vs Union of India, the Supreme Court had struck down section 8(4) of Representation of People Act, 1951, which gave relief to a convicted lawmaker to continue to remain a member of the House if he filed his appeal against the conviction within three months.
State Congress spokesperson Bhupendra Gupta said the Supreme Court’s judgment is “crystal clear”.
“The Speaker of the state assembly NP Prajapati should take a decision on membership of the MLA in the House as per the judgment.”
Prajapati couldn’t be reached for his comments.
“In view of the Supreme Court judgment, the speaker has no other option left but to notify to the Election Commission of India about the lawmaker being disqualified from the House, the moment he gets a formal copy of the judgment. The formal copy of the judgment is expected to be received anytime,” a state assembly secretariat officer said.
Prahlad Lodhi said he was convicted but at the same time granted bail by the court.
“The court has given me time till December 12 to file an appeal against the conviction. Hence, I can’t be disqualified as a member of the House. There is nobody above the law,” he said.
The vice-president of the BJP’s Madhya Pradesh unit Vijesh Lunawat said the party was looking into the legal aspects of the issue.
The 230-member state assembly has 115 MLAs from the Congress, 108 from the BJP, two from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), one from Samajwadi Party (SP) and four Independent MLAs.
The Congress will get a majority in the Madhya Pradesh assembly at least till the Pawai bypoll in case Lodhi is disqualified. His disqualification will also bring down the House strength to 229.
