J&K: Six BJP MLAs disqualified

Nearly six months after expelling its veteran leader and sitting MLA Prof Chaman Lal Gupta for six years from the organisation on charges of anti-party activities

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Nearly six months after expelling its veteran leader and sitting MLA Prof Chaman Lal Gupta for six years from the organisation on charges of anti-party activities,the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday disqualified from membership of the Legislative Assembly six other legislators who along with him had cross-voted in favour of the ruling National Conference and Congress nominees during the Legislative Council polls in April this year.

This is for the first time in the legislative history of the state that any political party has disqualified more than half of its sitting MLAs from membership of the Assembly on charges of defying the party whip. With this,the strength of the BJP in the lower House has come down from 10 to just four.

The disqualified MLAs are Bharat Bhushan,Prof Gharu Ram Bhagat,Durga Dass,Baldev Raj Sharma,Jagdish Raj Sapolia and Lal Chand.

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An indication to this effect was given by senior party leader Arun Jaitley during L K Advanis Jan Chetna Yatra rally in Jammu on Wednesday,when he referred to the party expelling six of its eight MLAs in the Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha for defying the party whip in 1952.

The Indian Express was the first to report that the party had made up its mind to take action against the six MLAs suspended on charges of cross-voting.

The disqualification decision was taken by the BJPs Legislature Party leader Jugal Kishore Sharma on a petition filed by Ashok Khajuria,the partys Chief Whip in the Assembly,according to the partys state spokesperson Nirmal Kamal. The decision was arrived at by Sharma after following the due procedure and proceedings under Rule 3 (6) of the Members of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly (Disqualification on Ground of Defection) Rules,1987,which authorise Legislature Party leader of the organisation concerned to take a decision on the disqualification of any of his own party member in the House, she said,adding that copies of the decision had been sent to the Assembly Speaker and the Chief Election Commission of India as well.

However,one of the disqualified MLAs,Baldev Raj Sharma,challenged the decision,saying the matter was sub judice as Prof Chaman Lal Gupta had filed a petition in the court in this regard. Sharma said he continued to be a member of the party,and the disqualification decision was the outcome of some misunderstanding which he would try to clear at the level of the party high command.