Tainted BJD MP May Face Disqualification From Lok Sabha!

Bhubaneswar: BJD MP Rama Chandra Hansdah, who is cooling his heels in jail for his alleged involvement in the chit fund scam, may face disqualification from Lok Sabha for the long absence.

A petition has been filed against Hansdah, the Mayurbhanj MP, before Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to disqualify him for the long absence from Parliament as well as from his constituency.

As per Article 104 (I) of the Constitution, if an MP is absent for 60 days without taking permission from Speaker or informing the cause of his nonavailability in the house, the Speaker has every legal right to disqualify that MP.

“Rama Chandra Hansdah is in judicial custody for nearly two years, and he has attended the Parliament only a few times. He was arrested by CBI on 4 November 2014 for his alleged involvement in chit fund scam,” said Subash Mohapatra, the petitioner.

The bail plea of the Mayubhanj MP was rejected by Supreme Court on April 26, 2016. He had prayed the apex court to grant him permission to attend the Parliament session in order to retain his membership.

Prior to this, Orissa High Court had rejected Hansdah’s plea. CBI investigating into the chit fund scam opposed the bail plea of Hansdah saying that the charges leveled against him were serious in nature, involving money transaction and conspiracy for duping the public.

“The issues from Mayurbhanj Constituency has not been raised. The residents of Mayrubhanj, who elected Rama Chandra Hansdah to represent them, suffered a lot as their representation has not been committed in the Parliament,” said Mohapatra.

He said the BJD MP continues to absent in Parliament which violates the procedure. It not only refuse the representation of Mayurbhanj people, but also threatens Indian democracy due to his alleged crimes.

“Therefore, I request you to kindly declare the seat vacant and allow Mayurbhanj Peoples representation by appropriate measures,” said the petitioner.