Jammu: Six of the seven Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators suspended for cross-voting during legislative council elections in Jammu and Kashmir have refused to appear before the party`s disciplinary committee in New Delhi Friday.
Barring former BJP legislature party leader Ashok Khajuria who is also among the suspended MLAs, all other legislators punished for cross-voting in the April 13 polls have told the party national leadership they were not obliged to appear before the panel.
They include Chaman Lal Gupta, the legislature party leader.
The party, which is part of the opposition in the state, had called all the 11 legislators of the party in the state - four of whom were exonerated and seven who were suspended and issued show cause notice - to New Delhi to deliberate on the issue.
"Sorry, we are not obliged to appear before the disciplinary panel Friday, as the party has been unfair to us. The party has not shown us what criteria was adopted in suspending us from the party and charging us with cross-voting and also for issuing show cause notice to us," six of the seven suspended legislators said in a statement issued here Thursday.
The seven BJP legislators had cross-voted in the legislative council elections, with the party candidate getting only four votes. The BJP found that seven of its votes had gone to the ruling National Conference and Congress rival. They were suspended April 20.
The suspended legislators have gone to town accusing the party leadership of being casteist and hatching a conspiracy against them to decimate the party.
IANS
