Lucknow, February 15
As a follow-up of the Supreme Court judgment disqualifying 13 dissident BSP MLAs, six ministers resigned from the Mulayam Singh Yadav government this evening. The Chief Minister personally submitted their resignation letters to the Governor.
Arriving at the Raj Bhavan at 6.30 pm, Mr Yadav spent almost an hour with Governor T.V. Rajeswar leading to speculations regarding the fate of his government.
In a parallel development, Leader of the BSP in the House Swami Prasad Maurya, the petitioner of the writ petition decided by the apex court, submitted a memorandum to Governor T.V. Rajeswar this evening asking him to issue directions to the ministers to “refund entire salary and allowances drawn by them till date with damage in the state public exchequer.”
Quoting extensively from the judgment the memo argued that since the present government had been illegal and unconstitutional from its very inception it’s proving its majority on the floor of the House held no meaning and should be dismissed at once.
Speaking to the press, BSP chief Mayawati also charged the Samajwadi Party of misleading the media by claiming that only 13 MLAs had been disqualified.
She said that para 54 of the SC order clearly stated that the appeal filed by the writ petitioner had been allowed and the appeals of the 37 MLAs had also been dismissed, which meant that they had, in fact, also been disqualified.
Mr S.C. Mishra, BSP MP and the party’s counsel, said the only difference was that while the 13 MLAs had been disqualified from August 27, 2003 the remaining MLAs’ disqualification became effective from September 6, 2006.
“As such their fate has been sealed and a wrong impression is being given that the matter was to be decided by the Speaker,” claimed Mr Mishra.
However, the CM refused to comment on BSP chief Mayawati’s allegation that the SC judgment, in effect, had disqualified all 37 MLAs.
Mr Yadav maintained, “I do not have anything to say about her. What is the correct position is clear to all.”
Briefly speaking to newsmen waiting at the Raj Bhawan gates Mr Yadav described the visit as a “routine courtesy call.”
