Lucknow, Sept 04: In the wake of Samajwadi Party's attempts to wean away a sizeable chunk of its legislators in Uttar Pradesh, the BSP today said it would petition the assembly Speaker for disqualification of 15 party MLAs who have extended support to Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav. "We have consulted legal experts and they are of the view that these MLAs could be disqualified under the anti-defection law and a petition in this regard will be filed before Speaker Kesari Nath Tripathi soon," BSP state president Barkhu Ram Verma said.
The 15 MLAs had voluntarily aligned with the ruling party against the wishes of the BSP by sitting on the treasury benches in the assembly when the House took up obituary references on September 2 and they could be disqualified from the House as per the provisions of Article 2 (A) of the Tenth Schedule, he claimed. The petition seeking their disqualification would be submitted to the Speaker before September 8 when Mulayam Singh Yadav is scheduled to prove his majority in the house, Verma said. "There is no need to wait till September 8 to see whether they defy the party whip and vote for the government."
On September 2, when the BSP members raised objection to some of its legislators sitting on the treasury benches, the Speaker had stated that since the MLAs had no designated seats they can sit anywhere in the house. Thirteen BSP MLAs had extended their support to Mulayam Singh Yadav in writing by giving letters to Governor Vishnu Kant Shastri and two others had later joined hands with Yadav.
The turncoats who plan to float a new political outfit, Loktantrik Bahujan Party, need 37 MLAs in their fold to formalise a split in the 110-member BSP legislature party.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party sources claimed that about 40 BSP MLAs have already pledged their loyalty to Yadav and split in the BSP would soon be formalised. Anti-defection law is not applicable in this case as more than 37 members have already decided to form a new political party. Bureau Report