PoliticsStates
RJD's Alok Mehta demands Bihar Council seats of two independents who joined BJP be cancelled
The former minister said Rahul Raj and Banshidhar Brajwasi had broken the anti-defection law and sought fresh polls in the Saran teachers' and Tirhut graduates' seats.
Key points
- Alok Kumar Mehta demanded that two MLCs who joined the BJP lose their seats.
- He said the switch violates the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.
- He wants fresh elections in Saran teachers' and Tirhut graduates' constituencies.
Rashtriya Janata Dal MLA and former Bihar minister Alok Kumar Mehta on Monday demanded that two members of the Bihar Legislative Council lose their seats for joining the BJP after being elected as independents.
Speaking to reporters in Samastipur, Mehta named Rahul Raj, elected from the Saran teachers’ constituency, and Banshidhar Brajwasi, elected from the Tirhut graduates’ constituency. Their move to the BJP, he said, “violates the anti-defection provisions of the Tenth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.”
He went further and called for fresh elections in both constituencies.
What the law says
The Tenth Schedule, the anti-defection law, covers independents as well as party members. A legislator elected without a party who joins one after the election can be disqualified. The decision rests with the presiding officer of the House, in this case the Chairman of the Legislative Council, so the RJD’s demand will only bite if it is taken to him as a formal petition. Mehta did not say whether the party would file one.
The Saran teachers’ seat was one of eight Council seats that went to the polls on 23 October. It was a messy contest for the ruling alliance. The NDA had fielded Anand Pushkar of the Janata Dal (United), while Ram Pukar Sinha of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha ran as an independent against him and was suspended by his party for six years.
Neither Rahul Raj, Brajwasi nor the BJP had responded to Mehta’s demand by Monday night.