Trinamool MLA threatens to get Suvendu dismissed from his post
KOLKATA: TMC MLA Tapas Roy has threatened to get the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari disqualified but said that he was stopped from doing so by party supremo Mamata Banerjee.
Amid the constant sabre rattling between the TMC and the BJP, in a fresh turn of events TMC’s senior MLA Tapas Roy disclosed to the media that he was ready to get the BJP leader Adhikari dismissed from his MLA position and send him a notice for violation of rights but ultimately changed his mind.
Roy has admitted that his change of mind was based on the request of his party’s supremo Mamata Banerjee who supposedly asked him to step back and desist from taking any action against Suvendu.
Adhikari, in return, has challenged Roy to get him disqualified. In an event in Nandigram on Sunday, he questioned what stopped TMC from getting him suspended and said that there is a justice system above everyone.
Sources said that Suvendu’s constant attacks, at times allegedly personal, against Mamata Banerjee has irked many party leaders within the TMC.
It is learnt that due to Suvendu’s repeated allegations that Mamata Banerjee was the main recipient of all proceeds of crime in money laundering and corruption cases that are being probed by central agencies in the state, some TMC leaders wanted to file defamation suits against Adhikari but Mamata stopped it each time.
A legal expert said that disqualification of a lawmaker can happen in three situations. It can happen through Articles 102 (1) and 191 (1) where a member of Parliament or of Legislative Assembly of a state can be disqualified for holding an office of profit, being of unsound mind or insolvent, or not having valid citizenship.
Disqualification can also happen according to the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution on grounds of defection. Thirdly, it can happen under the Representation of Peoples’ Act, of 1951. This law provides for disqualification for conviction in criminal cases. Recently, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was disqualified for a criminal defamation case against him.
