BackMadhya Pradesh minister Narottam Mishra moves SC against disqualification
Narottam Mishra has challenged the Election Commission's 23 June order disqualifying him as a legislator for three years in a case of paid news
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Mumbai: Beleaguered Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Madhya Pradesh minister Narottam Mishra has filed a petition in the Supreme Court praying for relief in a case of paid news.
Mishra told Mint on the phone that he has challenged the Election Commission’s 23 June order disqualifying him as a legislator for three years. “I have filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the EC order," Mishra said.
On Sunday, a division bench of the Delhi high court dismissed Mishra’s petition for relief against the EC order. Mishra is a senior minster in the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh, holding the portfolios of parliamentary affairs and water resources.
The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in Madhya Pradesh is under attack from the opposition Congress for failing to sack Mishra even though the EC has disqualified him and the Delhi HC has dismissed his petition for relief. Mishra was also barred from casting his vote in the presidential election on Monday.
The monsoon session of the Madhya Pradesh assembly began on Monday and the BJP deployed three senior ministers in the absence of Mishra to supervise the presidential poll. “Finance minister Jayant Malaiya and revenue minister Umashankar Gupta have been asked to look after parliamentary affairs and water resources departments during the monsoon session. Pending his petition in the Supreme Court, Mishra cannot take part in the proceedings as technically he stands disqualified," said a BJP functionary in Madhya Pradesh requesting anonymity.
Even as Mishra explores legal options, the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh is worried about the political fallout of the case during the monsoon session. The BJP functionary said the Congress had already called for Mishra’s resignation or dismissal and a loss for Mishra in the Supreme Court also would increase the pressure on the government to drop him. “So far the party has not asked Mishra to resign because the legal process is underway. But if the Supreme Court ruling goes against him, he may have to be dropped," the BJP functionary admitted.
On Monday, chief minister Chouhan held discussions with Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad about the legal status of Mishra’s case, this BJP functionary said. Mishra was also in Delhi to file the petition.
The case in question dates back to the 2008 assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh. Mishra had won from Datia constituency defeating then Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Rajendra Bharti. Bharti, who later joined the Congress, filed a complaint against Mishra with the Election Commission accusing the BJP legislator of violations of the Representation of the People Act by getting ‘paid news’ published in Hindi newspapers during the election campaign and not reporting the full expenses he had incurred in the election to the Commission. After a long legal process during which Bharti supplemented his case with copies of newspaper reports, the EC on 23 June this year passed an order disqualifying Mishra as a legislator for three years.
Mishra challenged the order in the Madhya Pradesh high court which refused to stay the EC order following which Mishra moved the Supreme Court. The SC asked the Delhi HC to hear the case.
On Sunday, the Delhi HC sat specially for this case and refused to grant any relief to Mishra.
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