New Delhi [India], April 27 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s strength in Rajya Sabha has increased to 113 after Chairman CP Radhakrishnan approved the merger of Raghav Chadha and six other MPs who quit the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Losing two-thirds of its MPs has been a big setback for the AAP, which is now reduced to a strength of three members in the Upper House of Parliament.
The trio of MPsRaghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittalparted ways with the AAP on Friday and subsequently joined the BJP in the presence of party leadership.
Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Singh Sahney and Swati Maliwal had also switched to the BJP.
Meanwhile, AAP MP Sanjay Singh had officially petitioned the Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan to disqualify seven MPs.
The petition challenged the "purported merger" under paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution and sought the disqualification of the MPs under its paragraph 2(1)(a).
Paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule deals with disqualification on the ground of defection. Sub-paragraph (1) provides that, subject to the provisions of paragraphs 4 and 5, a member of a House belonging to any political party shall be disqualified from being a member of the House. Clause (a) of this sub-paragraph further specifies that such disqualification occurs if the member has voluntarily given up membership of that political party.
Singh challenged the validity of the merger, citing the requirements in the Constitution.
However, as per the Tenth Schedule, a disqualification of MPs cannot take place in case an original political party merges with another political party, given that the merger includes two-thirds of the members. The seven AAP MPs fulfilled this condition as they shook hands with the BJP.
The move has triggered furious reactions from AAP leaders, who termed it a s "betrayal" while drawing a warm welcome from the BJP.
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