New Delhi: The Speaker of the Jharkhand Assembly issued a disqualification notice on Wednesday to three suspended Congress MLAs, giving them eight weeks to respond. Irfan Ansari, Rajesh Kachhap, and Naman Bixal Kongari were three MLAs for whom the Congress had asked for their disqualification on the grounds that they had approached other party legislators with offers to switch sides and overthrow the government.
The respondents requested more time because their bail conditions prevent them from leaving Kolkata at this time.
The three MLAs had received a notice from Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato asking for their clarification on the complaint made against them.
On July 30, the MLAs were taken into custody by West Bengal Police in Howrah along with about Rs 50 lakh in cash. Even though the West Bengal Police were looking into it, they were given temporary bail.
The Congress claimed that they were given money to overthrow the coalition led by their chief minister, Hemant Soren. Congress MLA Alamgir Alam filed a complaint to have the suspended lawmakers’ eligibility revoked after hearing claims from three additional Congress members that they were approached with offers to change sides and overthrow the government.
Advocate Ujjwal Anand represented the complainant, while Indrajit Sinha represented the respondents. The speaker postponed the hearing after hearing from both sides and promised to announce the new date soon.
