Latest news with #RajasthanAssembly
Time of India
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
12 days on, convicted BJP MLA remains assembly member despite court orders
Jaipur: Twelve days have passed since the upheld the conviction of BJP MLA in a criminal case and six days have passed since the directed the legislator to surrender and undergo the three-year jail sentence but Speaker Vasudev Devnani is yet to disqualify him from Rajasthan Assembly in keeping with the law despite repeated demands from the delay has drawn sharp criticism from the opposition, particularly the Congress, which has accused the Speaker of undermining constitutional norms. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The matter escalated further Saturday, as the additional chief judicial magistrate (ACJM) court in Manohar Thana, Jhalawar, issued an arrest warrant against Meena, directing him to surrender on or before May 14. The warrant comes in compliance with the high court's May 1 order that upheld Meena's three-year jail sentence for intimidating a govt official at Supreme Court on May 7 rejected Meena's special leave petition for relief and directed him to surrender within two weeks, reinforcing the legal obligation of the Speaker for disqualification of an assembly member under Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, which mandates that any legislator sentenced to two years or more in prison stands contacted by TOI, Devnani remained unavailable for a statement. Sources in the assembly secretariat confirmed that as of Monday, no instructions were issued to begin disqualification procedures of the BJP MLA. "No instructions have been passed for any action as of today," said an official of Opposition Tikaram Jully expressed serious concern over the inaction, stating, "The Speaker has decimated the spirit of the Constitution. It seems that the court is the only option left for the opposition to seek justice. I reminded the Speaker's office three times to take appropriate action but there was no response. His office only cited engagements outside Jaipur. The question is whether his priority is travel or upholding his constitutional duty."Responding to Jully's allegations, law and parliamentary affairs minister Jogaram Patel said the state govt has no role in the matter. "Speaker's office is independent and functions separately from the state govt. Any suggestion of govt interference is completely baseless," said of EventsMay 1: Rajasthan High Court upholds lower court's conviction of Kanwarlal Meena (3-year sentence)May 7: Supreme Court dismisses Meena's SLP and directs surrender within two weeksMay 11: ACJM Court, Manohar Thana, issues arrest warrant; directs surrender by May 14Speaker Vasudev Devnani yet to initiate against BJP MLAParliamentary affairs minister Jogaram Patel says state govt has no role in the matter
Time of India
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Speaker under fire for inaction against convicted BJP MLA
1 2 Jaipur: Rajasthan Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani is dragging his feet in disqualifying BJP MLA Kanwarlal Meena from the Anta constituency, even after the Supreme Court dismissed Meena's SLP against the Rajasthan High Court's May 1 decision upholding his three-year prison sentence. The Speaker's office has come under fire for the delay, despite legal provisions mandating immediate disqualification of elected representatives sentenced to over two years. "An official at the Assembly said they are consulting the legal team and will soon take a decision regarding the disqualification."Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully lambasted Devnani for what he termed a " constitutional failure ." "Nine days have passed since the high court upheld Meena's conviction, yet no action. The Speaker's position is not above the Constitution," Jully said. He also drew comparisons with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who acted within 24 hours to disqualify Rahul Gandhi under similar circumstances. "In one nation, we cannot have two constitutions. We will move court against this delay," Jully added.
Hans India
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Court to decide on Patel's punishment: Raj Speaker
Jaipur: As Bagidora MLA Jaikrishna Patel of the Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) was arrested red-handed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) while allegedly accepting a Rs 20 lakh bribe, questions about the future of his Assembly membership are circulating widely in political circles. Patel had reportedly struck a Rs 2 crore deal with a mining leaseholder from Todabhim in exchange for withdrawing questions related to the mining department from the Rajasthan Assembly. The bribe was to be paid in instalments. Following the arrest on Sunday, speculation has grown over whether the MLA might lose his seat in the Assembly. Rajasthan Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani said the court decision will guide further action and that the court will decide on the MLA's guilt and punishment. 'Only after the court's verdict, action will be taken in accordance with legislative rules and procedures,' he said. 'In a democracy, the public court -- i.e., elections -- also has its role. Many individuals have even won elections while in jail,' he added, underlining that premature disqualification is not possible without a legal judgment. Rajya Sabha MP Ghanshyam Tiwari noted that if an MLA asks a question in the Assembly and later withdraws it in exchange for money, it constitutes a violation of legislative privilege. 'In such cases, the Privilege Committee can investigate, and the Speaker has the authority to terminate membership based on its findings,' Tiwari said. He cited past instances in Parliament where members were disqualified for similar misconduct. Under Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, if an MLA or MP is convicted and sentenced to two years or more in prison, their membership is automatically revoked. Additionally, they are barred from contesting elections for the next six years. Convictions under charges like communal incitement, corruption, and sexual assault fall under this provision. Jaikrishna Patel represents the Bagidora Assembly constituency in Rajasthan's Banswara district. He won the seat in a by-election held on June 4, 2024, defeating BJP's Subhash Tambolia by a margin of 51,434 votes. The bypoll was necessitated after former Congress MLA Mahendrajit Singh Malviya resigned to join the BJP and contest the Lok Sabha elections.
India Today
04-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Rajasthan MLA arrested for taking Rs 20 lakh bribe to drop questions in Assembly
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Rajasthan Police on Sunday arrested Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) MLA Jaikrishn Patel while he was allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 20 lakh at his official residence in Jaipur. The arrest was made after a trap was laid by the ACB, following a complaint by a mine owner from Todabhim block in Karauli had allegedly demanded Rs 2 crore from the complainant in exchange for withdrawing three questions related to mining leases in the Todabhim area, which had been submitted for the previous session of the Rajasthan Assembly. Of these, two were starred questions, requiring oral answers from the minister concerned, and one was who was elected from Bagidora constituency in Banswara district during the bypoll held in April 2024, had come under ACB's scanner since April 4, following the mine owner's complaint. According to ACB Director-General Ravi Prakash Meharda, the deal was finalised at Rs 2 crore, with the bribe to be paid in instalments. The complainant had earlier paid Rs 1 lakh to Patel in Banswara. The ACB conducted the trap operation after obtaining prior permission from Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani and Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma. The complainant visited Patel's residence on Sunday to hand over the second instalment of Rs 20 lakh, during which the ACB team apprehended him a dramatic turn during the operation, one of Patel's aides reportedly fled with the bribe money upon sensing the presence of ACB officers. While the cash could not be recovered, DG Meharda stated that there is strong evidence of the MLA having accepted the money, including a colour test conducted on Patel's fingers and an audio-visual recording of the legislator has been taken to the ACB headquarters at Jhalana Doongri in Jaipur for interrogation. Investigators are probing his involvement in mining-related matters in Todabhim, an area outside his Patel took oath as an MLA just 11 months ago after winning the Bagidora byelection with the Congress's support. The byelection was necessitated after then-MLA Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya resigned from Congress and joined the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha to the arrest, BAP MP from Banswara, Rajkumar Roat, suggested Patel might be a victim of political conspiracy, but assured that appropriate action would follow if guilt was established. "There have been conspiracies in Rajasthan to target political parties that challenge dominant forces," Roat in 2023 after breaking away from the Gujarat-based Bharatiya Tribal Party, the BAP has four MLAs in the Rajasthan Assembly. The party has been steadily gaining ground by advocating tribal rights, including a separate state for the Bhil community and 75% reservation for tribals in education and InTrending Reel
The Hindu
03-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Congress demands BJP MLA's disqualification after High Court upholds his conviction
The Opposition Congress in Rajasthan on Saturday (May 3, 2025) demanded the disqualification of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kanwar Lal Meena following the Rajasthan High Court's order upholding his conviction in a 20-year-old case. Mr. Meena, elected from Baran district's Anta, was sentenced to three years' rigorous imprisonment in the matter. The case pertained to an incident in February 2005, when Mr. Meena arrived with seven associates at the venue of a protest by villagers in Jhalawar district demanding a Deputy Sarpanch repoll, and threatened the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) with a revolver. He allegedly aimed the revolver at the SDM's head and asked him to either announce a repoll within two minutes or get killed. Mr. Meena, who was not elected to the Rajasthan Assembly at the time, already had 15 criminal cases against him. He damaged the recording equipment of government officials to remove traces of his action and left the scene. He was arrested three years after the incident and released on bail the same day. Though Mr. Meena was initially acquitted by the trial court, a sessions court in Aklera later convicted him in December 2020 after finding him guilty of obstructing government work, intimidating government officials, and vandalising property. He was sentenced to imprisonment for three years and two years, respectively, on different charges, to be served concurrently. A two-time MLA, Mr. Meena first won the election from Jhalawar's Manohar Thana in 2013, and later from Anta in 2023. Dismissing his revision petition, which challenged the sessions court's judgment, a Single Judge Bench of the High Court ruled on Friday that Mr. Meena's conviction was in accordance with the facts and law, and based on strong evidence. The High Court directed Mr. Meena to surrender immediately before the trial court, failing which the court would issue non-bailable warrants against him, and the MLA would undergo the sentence. Pradesh Congress Committee president Govind Singh Dotasra and the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly Tika Ram Jully demanded that Mr. Meena be disqualified forthwith in accordance with the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Section 8(3) of the Act provides for the disqualification of a lawmaker following conviction for an offence with a two-year sentence or more. Mr. Jully said Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani should immediately pass an order cancelling Mr. Meena's membership of the House in view of the High Court upholding his imprisonment sentence. A delegation of Congress leaders will shortly meet the Speaker and place the demand before him. An alleged attack by a mob led by Mr. Meena, when he was an MLA, on activists taking part in a 'Jawabdehi Yatra' (march for accountability) in Jhalawar district's Aklera region on January 16, 2016, had also made headlines. Videos had emerged showing Mr. Meena with a lathi charging towards the activists, and beating and chasing them away. The incident had attracted attention to the movement to highlight rampant corruption in public life and fixing accountability.
