AAP submits petition to Rajya Sabha chairman seeking termination of seven MPs who quit party
New Delhi (PTI): Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh on Sunday submitted a petition to Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan seeking the disqualification of seven party MPs in the Upper House who recently quit the AAP and announced their merger with the BJP.
Addressing a press conference, Singh claimed the move by the seven Rajya Sabha MPs amounted to defection as it was against the provisions of the anti-defection law.
The AAP has urged the Rajya Sabha chairman to terminate the memberships of the seven MPs, claiming that they were elected to the Upper House on an AAP ticket but later decided to leave the party and join the BJP.
On Friday, the AAP suffered a jolt when Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikram Sahni and Swati Maliwal quit and merged with the BJP, alleging that the Arvind Kejriwal-led party had strayed from its principles, values and core morals.
“According to the Constitution, two-thirds of the total MPs of a party can merge with another party," Chadha said, pointing to the fact that AAP had a total of 10 MPs in the Rajya Sabha.
Singh on Sunday alleged that such defections were a betrayal of the people’s mandate, particularly in Punjab, and also against the spirit of the Constitution.
Incidentally, six of the seven MPs who quit the party were Rajya Sabha MPs from Punjab.
According to Singh, the AAP consulted Constitution experts, including senior advocate Kapil Sibal and a former Lok Sabha secretary general, on the matter, and it had been made clear that “the MPs were liable for disqualification under the law”.
“These members were elected by the AAP and later chose to leave and join another party. This is a betrayal of the people of Punjab and also of the Constitution of India,” Singh said.
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UP: Teen girl found hanging from tree; locals claim rape, murder
Pratapgarh (UP) (PTI): The body of a 19-year-old woman was found hanging from a tree in a village under the Manikpur police station area here on Sunday morning, police said.
According to the police, the woman had gone to sleep after dinner on Saturday night but was found hanging in an orchard nearly 400 metres away from her home the following morning.
Additional Superintendent of Police (West), Brijnandan Rai, stated that the circumstances suggest foul play.
"The victim's slippers and undergarments were recovered 50 metres away from the spot where the body was found. There are visible injury marks on her body," Rai said.
While locals have alleged that the woman was murdered after being raped, the ASP said that it is "prima facie a case of murder."
"Based on the complaint filed by the victim's brother, a case of murder has been registered against unidentified persons. The body has been sent for a post-mortem examination," the officer added.
Police further clarified that if the medical report confirms sexual assault, relevant sections will be added to the FIR.
Forensic experts and police teams have collected evidence from the spot and are investigating the matter from all angles.
