Expelled MPs may move court

Share:

December 24, 2005 19:45 IST

Expelled Bharatiya Janata Party members of Parliament are considering moving the Delhi high court against the decision claiming they have been denied natural justice and an opportunity to be heard.

"We are seeking opinion of legal and constitutional experts over the matter as our explusion goes against the principles of natural justice," BJP MP from Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh Pradip Gandhi told reporters after meeting some of his colleagues at the residence of another "tainted" BJP MP M K Patil in New Delhi.

Gandhi claimed that the Bansal Committee did not give them "enough" time to respond to the charges levelled against them. BJP MPs Gandhi, C P Singh and Patil met in New Delhi.

"Even in the 1951 H G Mudgal case, cited by the committee in its report, the accused MP was given 45 days notice to respond to the charges levelled against him," he said adding, the entire process leading to his (Mudgal's) expulsion was about five months.

"We were expelled within just 11 days of levelling of charges. We did not get enough time to present our case properly before the committee," Gandhi said adding most BJP MPs held a similar view.

Meanwhile, Bahujan Samaj Party MP Rajaram Pal claimed he had written letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee when undercover journalists had offered him money to raise questions in Parliament.

"I had also asked the Speaker to allow me to present my case before Parliament, but my requests were not heeded to," Pal claimed.

Get Rediff News in your Inbox:
Share: