The Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker, Govind Singh Kunjwal, on Thursday disqualified both Congress MlA Rekha Arya and BJP MlA Bhimlal Arya from the membership of the House.
Both the MlAs cross-voted, defying their respective party whip during the Supreme Court-monitored May 10 floor test. With the disqualification, the effective strength of the House has come down to 59, including one nominated MlA. Prior to the disqualification of eleven MlAs, the strength of the House was 71.
It is clear now that the fate of the three candidates for the June 11 Rajya Sabha seat would be decided by the vote of 59 MlAs. The three candidates are Pradeep Tamta of the Congress and two independents—Geeta Thakur and Anil Goel.
Notably, the chief whips of the Congress and the BJP, Indira Hridayesh and Madan Kaushik, respectively, had pasted their party whips on the houses of both the MlAs in the presence of the media a few hours before the floor test.
Defying the whip, Congress MlA from Someshwar in Almora district Rekha Arya voted against the Harish Rawat Government. She had been nurturing grudge against the Congress for several reasons. Similarly, BJP MlA Bhim lal Arya, who had been suspended from the party for hobnobbing with the Congress, voted for the Harish Rawat Government.
Earlier, when the BJP demanded a division of vote on the budget on March 18 the suspended MlA had abstained from the House in defiance of the party whip.
Things had followed thick and fast as nine Congress MlAs - Vijay Bahuguna, Harak Singh Rawat, Dr Shailendra Mohan Singhal, Subodh Uniyal, Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion, Amrita Rawat, Dr Shaila Rani Rawat, Umesh Sharma Kau and Pradeep Batra - had chorused with the BJP, vociferously demanding division of votes on the appropriation Bill on March 18. They all were disqualified by the Speaker a few hours after the President's Rule was promulgated on March 27.
Notably, following his abstention from the House on the fateful evening of March 18, BJP had filed notice against Bhim lal to the Speaker,
asking for his disqualification. But the Speaker chose to absolve him of the charges and helped him retain his membership of the House after Bhim lal argued that he
had not received any party whip. To give him no chance to defend himself thus, the party took the pains to have the whip pasted on his house before the crucial May 10 floor test.
This time, the Speaker did not, however, show any mercy on the rebel BJP MlA. His ruling disqualified him along with the Congress MlA Rekha Arya under the anti- defection law.