Will move SC to avert constitutional crisis in Rajasthan: Speaker

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Ghelot and Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachn Pilot. Photo: AFP

A day after the Sachin Pilot camp got a breather from the Rajasthan High Court, Assembly Speaker CP Joshi on Wednesday said that he will file a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court to avert what he called a constitutional crisis in the state. "The Speaker (of the Assembly) holds the right to disqualify MLAs. No one can interfere in the Speaker's decision," Joshi told the media here.

On Tuesday, the High Court had asked him to defer till Friday action against rebel MLAs led by Pilot, who was sacked as PCC chief and deputy CM on July 14 by the Congress leadership. Joshi has served disqualification notices on dissident Congress MLAs for remaining absent from two successive Congress Legislative Party meetings after Pilot raised a banner of revolt against the leadership of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

Joshi said that he would challenge the High Court order on the ground that why was it entertaining a petition at a procedural level when the Speaker had not even passed any order and only issued show-cause notices to the MLAs in question.

"I have respected whatever judgment the court has given till now. However, does this respect and acceptance mean that one authority can overlap the role of the other?" The Pilot camp had last Thursday filed a petition in the High Court against the notices served on them by the Speaker on a Congress plea for their disqualification from the Assembly membership.

The rebels had argued in the court that "free speech" cannot be labelled as "anti-party activity" and that they can't be served such notices when the Rajasthan Assembly is not in session.

Questioning the validity of the notices issued by the Speaker, they termed as "motivated" the complaint filed on behalf of Mahesh Joshi, Chief Whip of the Congress in the Assembly.