Bhubaneswar, March 18: The Odisha Congress on Wednesday demanded the disqualification of two of its MLAs after suspending them from the party for cross-voting and defying the party whip during the recent Rajya Sabha election.
A delegation of Congress MLAs, led by PCC president Bhakta Charan Das, met the Assembly Speaker, Surama Padhy, to formally request the disqualification of the two legislators. The party urged the Speaker to take note of the issue and initiate proceedings to disqualify the members under the Anti-Defection Law.
“These MLAs have violated the 10th Schedule of the Constitution. As party members, they showed disrespect and disobedience towards the party's directives. We have requested the Speaker to disqualify them, and we trust that action will be taken,” Bhakta Charan Das stated.
In a related development, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Ramachandra Kadam had also written to the Odisha Assembly Speaker, requesting separate seating arrangements for three other MLAs—Sofia Firdous (Cuttack-Barabati), Dasarathi Gomango (Mohana), and Ramesh Jena (Sanakhemundi).
