Lucknow(PTI): BJP MLA Ramdular Gond, who was recently sentenced to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a girl nine years ago, has been disqualified as a member of the Uttar Pradesh assembly, official sources said on Saturday.

According to the Representation of the People Act, a lawmaker sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more shall be disqualified "from the date of such conviction" and remain disqualified for another six years after serving time. Ahsan Ullah Khan, additional district and sessions judge of the MP-MLA court in Sonbhadra, had also imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on Gond. The sum would be given to the rape survivor who is now married and the mother of an eight-year-old girl.
 
Special Public Prosecutor Satyaprakash Tripathi said the court held the MLA from Duddhi seat -- reserved for Scheduled Tribes -- guilty on December 12 and announced the quantum of punishment three days later.
 
The rape incident took place in 2014 and a case was registered against Gond under IPC sections 376 (rape) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) as well as under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on the complaint of the rape survivor's brother.

Gond was not an MLA at that time while his wife was a gram pradhan, Tripathi said. The trial in the case started in a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO Act, but was later transferred to the MP-MLA court when Gond was elected as a legislator.

Uttar Pradesh has seen disqualification of several lawmakers after their conviction in separate cases. In October 2022, Samajwadi Party MLA (Rampur Sadar seat) Azam Khan and the BJP's Vikram Singh Saini (Khatauli MLA) were disqualified.

While the action against Khan was taken after being sentenced to three years in a 2019 hate speech case, Saini was disqualified after he got a two-year jail term in a 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots case. Kuldeep Singh Sengar, an MLA from Unnao, was disqualified from the assembly in February 2020 following his conviction in a rape case. He was earlier expelled by the BJP.

Azam Khan's son and Samajwadi Party MLA Abdullah Azam Khan lost his Assembly membership in February this year after being sentenced to two years in jail for staging a sit-in on a highway after his cavalcade was stopped by the police for checking following an attack on a CRPF camp in Rampur on December 31, 2007.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Bengaluru: Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka launched a scathing attack on MLC Dr. Yathindra, demanding that he retract his controversial statement comparing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to the late Maharaja Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar. Ashoka urged Yathindra to apologize to the people of Karnataka if he had even a shred of conscience and any respect for the Mysuru royal lineage.

In a strongly worded social media post on Sunday, Ashoka stated, “Comparing Siddaramaiah to Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar is nothing short of absurd. Where is Nalwadi, who was bestowed the title of ‘Rajarshi’ by Mahatma Gandhi himself, and where is Siddaramaiah, who has stooped to being a puppet in the hands of fake Gandhis for the sake of power?”

He continued his critique by contrasting the enduring legacy of Nalwadi, remembered fondly by Kannadigas for his people-centric development, with what he termed as Siddaramaiah’s failure to manage Karnataka’s economy, burdening every household with debt.

Ashoka highlighted several stark differences, while Nalwadi built Mysore University over a century ago, Siddaramaiah is shutting down nine universities due to lack of funds. Nalwadi famously sold his family’s gold to build the KRS dam, whereas Siddaramaiah is accused of grabbing 14 sites meant for the public. Nalwadi established Bhadravati Iron & Steel Plant, Sandalwood Soap Factory, and Mysore Paper Mills. In contrast, Ashoka claimed Siddaramaiah's governance drove away industries, investors, and entrepreneurs. Nalwadi pioneered reservations for the backward classes long before it became mainstream. Siddaramaiah, Ashoka alleged, is reducing social justice to a gimmick by sticking labels on doors in the name of surveys.

While acknowledging Yathindra’s emotional attachment to his father, Ashoka emphasized that comparing Siddaramaiah to a visionary like Nalwadi was “laughable, baseless, and a gross insult” to the late king.

In his concluding remarks, Ashoka slammed the government for ignoring farmers’ needs despite an early monsoon. He accused the administration of being caught up in internal power struggles and negligence, forcing farmers into despair. “This government will not be spared from the curse of the farmers,” he warned.

Get all the latest, breaking news from Karnataka in a single click. CLICK HERE to get all the latest news from Karnataka.