Speaker of UP Assembly Speaker Mata Prasad Pandey would take a call on disqualification petition against rebel Bahujan Samaj Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya on August 31. A former leader of Opposition in UP Assembly, Maurya had quit the BSP on June 21 and joined the BJP later.
Assembly Secretariat sources said that Swami Prasad Maurya has defected to the BJP and was been given two opportunities to present his case, buthe failed to turn up before the Speaker on both occasions, citing various reasons.
In an application filed on Tuesday, Maurya has sought extension for another week. He has however filed a reply in writing to the Speaker on the BSP’s petition seeking his disqualification as a member of the House.
BSP leader Gaya Charan Dinkar who has replaced Maurya as the leader of Opposition has urged the Speaker to take an early decision so that Maurya could be disqualified at the earliest.
Maurya had quit the BSP in July, accusing party chief Mayawati of selling party tickets to affluent people and not considering loyalty towards the party as a criterion. He had also levelled serious charges of corruption against Mayawati.
The BSP has also filed petition for the disqualification of two more MlAs - Bala Prasad Awasthi and Rajesh Tripathi, who have defected to the BJP. Assembly secretariat sources said that the notices to both MlAs have already been issued by the Speaker, however the MlAs denied its receipt.
The Assembly Secretariat has also issued notice to six Congress MlAs against whom the party has filed petition before the Speaker seeking their disqualification. The MlAs had cross -voted during the Rajya Sabha elections in June.
Official sources said the notice to the six Congress MlAs was issued on Wednesday and the MlAs have one week’s time to respond. The Congress MlAs expelled for six years are Sanjay Pratap Jayaswal (Basti), Madhuri Verma (Bahraich), Vijay Dube (Kushinagar), Mohammed Muslim (Tiloi-Amethi), Dil Nawaz Khan (Bulandshahar) and Nawab Kasim Ali Khan (Rampur).
Of them, three –Mohammed Muslim, Dil Nawaz Khan and Nawab Kazim Ali Khan have joined the BSP while three others joined the BJP. So far six MlAs including three from the Congress, two from BSP and one from the ruling SP, have so far joined the BJP.