Trinamool Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra on Monday, 15 March, took to Twitter to say that nominated Rajya Sabha member Swapan Dasgupta must be disqualified for joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution of India.
According to the Constitution, a member nominated to the House by the President is allowed to join a political party if he/she does so within the first six months of taking seat in the House.
“A nominated member of a House shall be disqualified for being a member of the House if he joins any political party after the expiry of six months from the date on which he takes his seat after complying with the requirements of Article 99 or, as the case may be, Article 188,” reads paragraph 2 (3) of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution.
According to the Rajya Sabha website, Dasgupta was nominated by the president to the Upper House in April 2016 and is currently a nominated member without an affiliation to any party.
The BJP on Sunday released the names of over 60 candidates for the third and fourth phase of the eight-phase Assembly polls in West Bengal.
Swapan Dasgupta is in the fray from the Tarakeshwar Assembly segment.
The eight-phase West Bengal elections will begin on 27 March. Results will be announced, along with other states going to polls, on 2 May.
Congress Seeks Clarification
Following Moitra’s tweet, the Congress has sought clarification from Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu about Dasgupta.
According to Hindustan Times, Congress chief whip Jairam Ramesh has pointed out in a letter that Dasgupta has neither resigned from the House before contesting election nor has he joined any party.
“Can a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha who has not formally joined a political party within six months of nomination and continues as a non-party, nominated member contest elections to Parliament or the assembly without first resigning as a nominated member?” the letter reads.
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