Bhubaneswar, Apr 11 (FN Bureau) Odisha Assembly Speaker Pramilka Mallik has disqualified the membership of two BJD MLAs, -Arabinda Dhali and Premananda Nayak under the anti defection law as per the provision under paragraph 6(1) of the 10th Schedule to the Constitution of India.Both Dhali and Nayak were the BJD MLAs from Jayadev and Telkoi Assembly seats, respectively, who had recently resigned from the primary membership of the party and joined the BJP ahead of the Assembly elections in the state.Odisha Assembly sources said the Speaker’s action follows after government Chief Whip Prasanta Kumar Muduli filed a petition on March 18 under Rule 6 of the Members of Odisha Legislative Assembly (Disqualification on Ground of Defection) Rules, 1978, seeking disqualification of Dhali and Nayak as both of them have voluntarily resigned from the primary membership of the party. Official sources said a notification in this regard has been issued by the Assembly secretariat on Wednesday stating that the disqualification of the two leaders will be effective immediately.
Assembly sources said both Dhali and Nayal were asked to appear before the Assembly Speaker for a personal hearing on the petition filed by the government chief whip, but they did not turn up, for which they were disqualified from the party with immediate effect by the Speaker. Dhali, who has been fielded by the BJP from the Jadev Assembly seat, has described the action of the Speaker disqualifying him as a member of the Assembly as a one-sided action, stating that he was not given any opportunity to submit his views. He has demanded that similar actions be taken against other sitting MLAs who have also defected from the party and joined the other party ahead of the Assembly election.Nayak however,has welcomed the decision of the Speaker and said it will not have any impact on him as he has already left the party and joined the BJP.Besides Dhali and Nayak, the other three sitting MLAs who have also quit the party and joined other political parties ahead of the assembly election are Congress MLA Khariar Adhiraj Panigrahi, BJD MLA Athamallik Ramesh Chandra Sai, and BJP MLA Sukanta Nayak from Nilagiri Assembly seat.Both Adhiraj Panigrahi and Sukant Nayak have already joined the BJD, while Sai has joined the BJP.The BJD has already fielded Panigrahi for the Khariar Assembly seat in the upcoming assembly election in the state.