Manipur HC bars 7 Congress MLAs who joined BJP from entering Assembly

After hearing the disqualifications against seven Congress MLAs, who had defected to the BJP, the Manipur High Court restrained them from entering the assembly until Speaker Yumnam Khemchand Singh finally disposes of the pending anti-defection cases against them. The seven lawmakers had helped the formation of the BJP-led government in the state.

Imphal: The High Court of Manipur on Monday restrained seven Congress MLAs, who defected to the BJP, from entering the Assembly till Speaker Yumnam Khemchand Singh finally disposes of the pending anti-defection cases against them.

These seven lawmakers had helped formation of the BJP-led government in the state after the Assembly election in 2017, in which the Congress emerged as the single largest party.

Following the high court order, they might not be able to cast vote in the Rajya Sabha elections to be held on June 19.

After hearing the disqualifications against the seven MLAs filed by leaders of the Congress, the court ordered that they are restrained from entering the House.

The court said the disqualification petitions were filed against them before the Speaker in November 2018 but he did not decide on the matter within a reasonable time.

Earlier in March, the Supreme Court, in a rare move, invoked its plenary powers and ordered forthwith removal of Th Shyamkumar who was the state's forest minister.

Shyamkumar had also won the election on Congress ticket but became a minister in the BJP-led government.

The plea of his disqualification was also pending with the Speaker since 2017. Khemchand later disqualified him from the Assembly.

PTI