Reader TTS

The Rajasthan Congress, led by Leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully, has intensified its demand for the immediate disqualification of BJP MLA Kanwar Lal Meena following his criminal

conviction, submitting a fourth memorandum to Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani. The Congress delegation met the Speaker a day after petitioning Governor Haribhau Bagade, pressing for the

termination of Meena’s assembly membership. However, Speaker Devnani remained non-committal, stating he was awaiting the Advocate General’s opinion and may need a few more days to act.

Meena, the MLA from Anta (Baran), was convicted in a 2005 case where he had threatened the then-SDM Ram Niwas Mehta at gunpoint to force re-polling in a panchayat election. While initially

acquitted by the trial court, the ADJ court in Aklera convicted him in 2020, awarding a 3-year jail sentence and a fine of ₹10,000. The Rajasthan High Court upheld this ruling on May 2,

2024, and the Supreme Court dismissed Meena’s special leave petition, directing him to surrender by May 14, later extended to May 21. Jully argued that under the law, Meena’s

disqualification should have been automatic and within 24 hours of the High Court’s upholding of the sentence. Drawing comparisons, he pointed out how Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was

disqualified from the Lok Sabha within a day of his conviction, without any legal opinion being sought. He further accused the Speaker of acting under pressure from the RSS and BJP, alleging

selective application of rules and shielding Meena from the consequences of his conviction. The Congress also raised objections to the removal of senior party MLA Narendra Kumar Budaniya

from the chairmanship of the House Privileges Committee, calling the move arbitrary. Jully warned of a “coordinated attempt” at the central level to secure clemency for Meena through the

Governor under Article 161 of the Constitution, and reiterated that both the Governor and Speaker must uphold constitutional norms. The Speaker, however, maintained that no wrong had been

committed in Budaniya’s transfer and that he was operating within his constitutional powers. Advertisement Advertisement