Denying the BJP’s charge that the Congress had indulged in horse-trading to buy back its “rebel” MLAs, senior advocate and Congress leader Kapil Sibal said in the Uttarakhand High Court on Saturday that it was the BJP that had indulged in horse-trading of nine Congress “rebels”.
“The horses [the rebels] were already bolted on March 18,” he said.
The BJP has been levelling the charge of horse-trading against the former Chief Minister, Harish Rawat, on the basis of a sting operation made public on March 26. The video appeared to show Mr. Rawat trying to buy back the rebel MLAs to gain majority in the Assembly.
“The BJP is accusing the Congress of bringing back its own MLAs. Is this horse-trading,” asked Mr. Sibal, counsel for Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal.
Justice U.C. Dhyani was hearing a petition filed by the “rebel” Congress MLAs seeking a stay on their disqualification under the anti-defection law.
Mr. Sibal wanted the petition dismissed. “This petition should be dismissed without going into the merits at threshold” because the “rebels suppressed facts” and did not show “due diligence” as petitioners, he said.
Quoting from the comments of the Division Bench on the “rebels”, he said: “It was a constitutional sin to defect… even then they seek a stay against their sin. They knew they were unethical, unconstitutional.”
He was also upset that the lawyer for the “rebels” was absent.
“Though they had filed the petition, but their [main] counsel didn’t appear in the High Court [on Saturday]. They [the rebels] also said in the court that they wanted to transfer the petition to the Supreme Court. This is wrong. If you don’t show confidence in a court, how will courts work?”
The matter needs to be decided before April 29, when a floor test will be held in the Assembly. The exclusion of the “rebels” from the voting could shift the judgment in the favour of Mr Rawat. The matter shall now be heard on April 25, since Justice Dhyani said he needed “time to think” because the judgment was to be delivered before April 29.
On March 18, 35 MLAs (26 BJP and nine Congress MLAs) asked for a division of votes on the Appropriation Bill. However, the Speaker did not allow the division and showed the Bill as “passed” through voice vote. The 35 MLAs approached Governor K.K. Paul and said the Bill was “unconstitutionally” shown as passed.
However, the nine Congress rebels were disqualified on March 27 by the Speaker.
They moved the High Court against the disqualification.
