Bhopal, April 3 Madhya Pradesh Assembly Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar said on Friday that Rajendra Bharti, a Congress MLA from Datia, was disqualified in compliance with the Supreme Court's 2013 judgment, and the action was legal.
The annulment of Bharti's membership of the assembly triggered a controversy earlier in the day, with the opposition Congress terming the "midnight" move a "blatant violation of the democratic process."
Speaking to reporters, Tomar noted that a special court in Delhi sentenced the Congress MLA to three years' imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on him in a case of fraud.
Following his conviction, his membership was cancelled as per the Supreme Court's judgment of July 10, 2013, the Speaker said.
The Assembly Secretariat also issued a gazette notification declaring a vacancy in the assembly seat, he added.
Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, provides that a person sentenced to two years or more in prison becomes disqualified from the date of conviction, and the Bharti's case attracted this provision, the Speaker contended.
"....and the MLA's seat automatically becomes vacant (upon such conviction). Therefore, this action has been taken legally," Tomar said.
Earlier, Asha Rani Singh's membership was terminated on the same grounds when she was sentenced to 10 years. In 2019, Prahlad Lodhi's membership was similarly terminated after he was sentenced to two years, but it was reinstated when he obtained a stay from the High Court, the speaker said.
In response to a question, Tomar said that as Speaker, he has always remained above party politics.
On the Congress's allegation that the Vidhan Sabha (assembly) was opened late in the night for issuing the disqualification order, Tomar said Assembly Principal Secretary Arvind Sharma returned from Delhi on Thursday night and visited the Assembly Secretariat to perform essential official work.
The birth anniversary of former Speaker Yagyadutt Sharma is to be celebrated on April 5 and the secretariat staff was preparing for the event, Tomar added.