Sikkim Legislative Assembly Speaker L.B. Das on Tuesday rejected the petition for disqualification of twelve MLAs of Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) on the grounds of lack of material in support of their defection, claimed the petitioner before the media here.
The petition was filed by Sikkim Subject Committee vice-convenor Nawin Kiran Pradhan on August 30 against the connection of the 10 of the 13 SDF legislators within the BJP and 2 others within the ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) on August 13 and 14 severally. The petition was filed below Article 191(2) and Para 2(1)(a) scan with 6(1) of the 10th schedule of the Constitution of India stating it as a shameful and unconstitutional step by the MLAs.
Commenting on the Speaker’s ruling, Pradhan said, “It could be a black day for democracy. Earlier the party who showed their support once we filed the same petition against 7 defectors is currently rejecting our plea simply because they're currently in government. It's evidenced that SKM is worse than Sikkim Democratic Front.”
He further said that he would take this fight to next level. Pradhan’s legal counsel S. Chatterjee said the choice of the Speaker is that the ‘mockery’ of the Constitution and therefore the 10th schedule.
“There is also a rejection and that we settle for it however the reason given by the Speaker is absolutely funny. Without any hearing, how will he say that there's no material of the defectors joining the parties? The complete nation through media has seen them selling the general public mandate by joining alternative parties. The Speaker ought to act severally and judiciously. Under Article 226 of the Indian Constitution, this is often associate order reviewable by the judiciary. Therefore, we will approach the High court and challenge the choice,” said Chatterjee.
Pradhan, along with alternative petitioners, had filed the same petition in 2017 to the then Speaker K.N. Rai against seven SKM MLAs UN agency defected to the SDF that remains unfinished.
Pradhan, along with other petitioners, had filed a similar petition in 2017 to the then Speaker K.N. Rai against seven SKM MLAs who defected to the SDF which is still pending.
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