Sachin Pilot
IANS/New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear today a petition by Rajasthan Assembly Speaker C P Joshi challenging the Rajasthan High Court decision extending time for sacked deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and 18 other rebel Congress legislators to reply to an anti-defection notice issued on July 14.
Justices Arun Mishra, B R Gavai and Krishna Murari will take up the matter through video conferencing.
“It is respectfully submitted that the impugned order passed by the high court is in effect a stay on the powers of the speaker under the Tenth Schedule to adjudicate on a disqualification petition,” said the petition filed by lawyer Sunil Fernandes.
The speaker urged the top court to stay the July 21 order of the Rajasthan High Court.
Joshi said the high court has breached the bar imposed by the Supreme Court against judicial intervention in matters pending before the speaker.
He said instead of appearing before the speaker and giving their comments on the allegations made in the disqualification petition, a direct challenge was made in the high court by the rebel MLAs.
“It is respectfully submitted that the notice dated July 14 was only limited to inviting comments from the rand there was nothing adverse against the respondents. It is submitted that such a notice is not the final determination or decision on disqualification but only a commencement of the proceedings,” Joshi said in his petition.
Pilot was sacked as deputy chief minister and Rajasthan Congress chief earlier this month after he was accused of trying to topple his own government with the help of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
In a related development, the Congress yesterday termed raids conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at the residence of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s brother Agrasen Gehlot and other places as ‘a weapon for intimidation’.
“The BJP is challenging the stable government which has been elected by the people. On July 20-21, the CBI questioned our MLA Krishna Poonia. The government from Delhi is trying to exert pressure on the state government with these acts,” Congress spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala said.
The ED yesterday conducted raids at various locations across the country including the residence of Agrasen Gehlot in connection with the fertiliser scam.
Surjewala said that on July 21, one of chief mister’s top aides was called by the CBI. Now Agrasen Gehlot has been targeted.
These are people who are being raided despite the fact that they are neither in politics nor do they have anything to do with it.
“You might have got the people of other states scared by such threats, however, the people of Rajasthan and the MLAs of Gehlot will not be afraid with these means,” he added.
Agrasen Gehlot’s firm Anupam Krishi held authorised dealership of Indian Potash Ltd (IPL).
An ED source claimed the company was involved in exporting Muriate of Potash (MoP) fertiliser, which is banned for exports.
MoP is imported by IPL and distributed among farmers at subsidised rates.
The source further said that Agrasen Gehlot is facing a Rs7 crore Customs penalty in the fertilizer case.
According to the source, Agrasen Gehlot was the authorised dealer for IPL and between 2007-09, his company bought MoP at subsidised rates and instead of distributing to farmers sold it to a few other companies, who in turn exported it to Malaysia and Singapore in the guise of industrial salt.
The searches comes in the backdrop of the political crisis in Rajasthan.
Pilot is the third high-profile leader after Ashok Tanwar of Haryana and Jyotiraditya Scindia of Madhya Pradesh to rebel against the party.
However, the Congress cites all it has done for Pilot.
Party spokeswoman Supriya Shrinate said: “From an MP at 26 to deputy chief minister in 40s, the party has given all the opportunities to the young leader. But he chose to remain in the hospitality of the BJP in Haryana as the party repeatedly asked him to come back into its fold.”
No head of the family will allow any member to demolish the family, she said referring to Pilot, who, despite being approached by the party, did not respond to its overtures.
While analysts feel that the central leadership is weak and is not able to keep the flock together or nobody cares for the party anymore, veteran leader B K Hariprasad says that there is lack of ideological commitment which is the driving force behind such rebellions. “These so-called young politicians are here to make a career but they don’t have any inclination towards the party ideology,” Hariprasad said.Source: https://www.gulf-times.com
