3 YSR Congress MPs move HC against Speaker rejecting resignations

NEW DELHI: Three YSR Congress MPs including its chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, who had resigned in August over proposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, have moved the Delhi High Court seeking quashing of the Speaker's decision rejecting their resignation.

Filing a joint petition through counsel Haripriya Padmanabham and Aman Garg, Kadapa MP Jagan along with Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy (Nellore) and S P Y Reddy (Nandyal) said that Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on October 18 had rejected their resignations without citing any reason.

Seeking a court order directing the Speaker to accept their resignations, the petitioners said, "They were not contacted by the Speaker to ascertain whether the letters were voluntary or genuine, thereby showing that Respondent 2 (Speaker) had no intention of accepting the resignations.

"These rejections are contrary to both Article 101 of the Constitution as well as Rule 240 of the Rules of Procedure of the Lok Sabha because there has been no basic verification of whether the resignations are voluntary or genuine."

In the plea, the petitioners said, "The Respondent 2 (Speaker) has not abided by the Constitution or Rule 240 of the Lok Sabha Rules of Procedure to verify whether the letters of resignation may not be voluntary or genuine. As these are the only grounds on which a resignation may not be accepted, it was necessary for such an exercise to be undertaken to satisfy Respondent 2..."

Their petition is likely to be listed next week.