Bhopal: The decision by the Election Commission (EC) to recommend the disqualification of 20 Aam Admi Party (AAP) MLAs for holding offices-of-profit has brought into focus the case of 11 BJP legislators from Chhattisgarh who face a similar charge.
Cases against these MLAs, who have been appointed parliamentary secretaries with pr-ivileges accorded to a minister of state, are pending with the Chhattisgarh high court.
“Hearing in the case of 11 parliamentary secretaries in the Chhattisgarh high court is in the final stage,” Right to Information (RTI) activist Rakesh Chou-bey, who had filed a PIL in the Chhattisgarh high court in this regard, told this newspaper on Saturday.
AICC spokesman Mohmmad Akbar has also filed a PIL in the Chhattisgarh high court in this regard and has moved the EC seeking the disqualification of these 11 BJP legislators for allegedly holding office-of-profit.
“I have approached Chhattisgarh governor seeking action in the matter,” Mr Akbar saidin a press statement.
A two-judge bench of Chief Justice of the high court T.B. Radhakrishnan and Justice P.S. Koshi has passed an interim order suspending all privileges provided to the parliamentary secretaries till the case is disposed of. However, since Justice Radhakrishnan was transferred recently, the case had to be assigned to a new judge.
“The case was scheduled for hearing in the bench on January 12 this year. But the hearing could not be held due to the transfer of the Chief Justice of the high court”, Mr Choubey said.
In the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly, the BJP has 49 MLAs, while the Congress has 39. If these 11 MLAs are disqualified, the Raman Singh government will be down to 38 MLAs, much below the magic mark of 46.
The 11 BJP MLAs who have been appointed parliamentary secretaries in Chhattisgarh are Raju Singh Khetriya, Tokhan Sahu, Ambesh Jangde, Lakhanlal Dewangan, Motilal Chandravamsi, Lal Chand Bafna, Rup Kumari Choudhury, Shiv Shankar Paikre, Suniti Rathia, Champa Devi Pawle and Gobardhan Singh Majhi.
