Leader of Opposition in Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir today urged Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan to refer the cases of six TRS MLAs holding ‘office of profit’ to Election commission as they are in violation of Articles 190, 191 and 192 on the lines of their counterparts in Delhi and Sikkim.
Speaking to media persons after submitting a memorandum to the Governor at Raj Bhavan along with Congress leader A. Revanth Reddy, Shabbir Ali said that the Governor has been urged to uphold the Constitution and protect the high standards of Indian democracy by endorsing the petition for disqualification of MLAs who held offices of profit. He said after the ECI set aside 20 AAP MLAs of Delhi on similar clauses, Sikkim Governor N Shrinivas Patil has also referred the case of 14 SDF MLAs to the ECI for necessary action.
Six TRS MLAs, D. Vinay Bhaskar, Jalagam Venkat Rao, V.Srinivas Goud, G. Kishore Kumar, V.Satish Kumar, and Kova Laxmi, who were appointed as Parliamentary Secretaries in Telangana enjoyed salaries and all the benefits of cabinet rank in total violation of the Article 190, 191, 192 and Article 102(1) (a), 103n of the Constitution , he said. He said the appointment of Parliamentary Secretaries was made on 29/12/2014 and although their appointment was stayed by the High Court on 01/05/2015, all the six MLAs continued to enjoy the status of Cabinet Minister, defeating the very purpose of the 91st Amendment. “It is a backdoor entry and is in willful disobedience of the mandate of law,” he said.
Shabbir Ali and Revanth Reddy said that the Governor should refer the petition forthwith to the Election Commission without adopting any dilatory tactics. The ECI too should conduct an inquiry and disqualify the TRS MLAs who have already incurred disqualification.
They also cautioned that any deviation from the Constitutional duty and responsibility by any constitutional authority is amenable to the revisional jurisdiction of the High Court as well as Supreme Court as held in S.R.Bommai’s Case. (INN)