Accepts plea against 18 MLAs for role in Gurjar protests

JAIPUR: Rajasthan governor and UPA presidential candidate Pratibha Patil on Friday accepted a petition, under Article 192 of the Constitution, seeking disqualification of 18 legislators including three Cabinet and one state minister for their role in Gurjar agitation and the recent caste-war in the state.

The petition filed by Kashi Purohit through his counsel Abhinav Sharma stated that the legislators have committed breach of the oath of office taken by them when they openly fuelled the Gurjar agitation and provoked the mob to damage government properties.

The legislators have also been accused for ruining communal harmony and disrupting trade, commerce and industry of Rajasthan and adjoining states. In the petition, the governor has been called upon to refer the matter to the Election Commission as stipulated under the Constitution and to declare those MLAs ineligible for holding their offices. The petition further sought the governor to declare these 18 constituencies as vacant and declare bye-elections.

Counsel of the petitioner Abhinav Sharma told ET, “The Constitution does not permit any member of legislative assembly or either House of the Parliament to favour any caste and raise slogans or give inflammatory speech at public platform.

There are two Constitution bench judgements rendered in the 1965 and 1978 wherein the Supreme Court has expressly held that the governor has power to refer such petition under Article 192 to the Election Commission of India
Sharma further stated, in Har Sharan Verma’s case in the year 1985, Supreme Court has said that the object of introducing Article 173(a) and 188 is to ensure that only a person having allegiance to India and the Constitution shall be eligible for membership of legislature and since these legislators have breached the oath they therefore have been disqualified for holding their respective offices.

The petition includes names of rural development & panchayati raj minister Kalu Lal Gurjar, women and child development and tribal development minister Kanak Mal Katara, food and supplies minister Kirori Lal Meena, finance and commerce minister Virendra Meena.