The Election Commission has received petitions seeking disqualification of Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and nine other Left party members of Parliament from West Bengal on the ground they were holding offices of profit.
Chief Election Commissioner B B Tandon told reporters that petitions have also been received against Rajya Sabha members Karan Singh, T Subbirami Reddy and Kapila Vatsyayanan (all Congress), Lok Sabha member Chandrapal Singh Yadav (Samajwadi Party), Anuradha Choudhary (RLD).
He said a Telugu Desam Party petition against Congress president Sonia Gandhi has also been received. She has since resigned her seat in the Lok Sabha.
Tandon said the commission had received a reference from President A P J Abdul Kalam, filed by Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, against the Left party MPs. Besides Chatterjee, they are Mohammed Salim, Hannan Mollah, Lakshman Seth, Amitava Nandi, Tarit Baran Topdar, Bansa Gopal Chowdhury, Sujan Chakravarti and Sudhansu Sil (all Lok Sabha) and Nilotpal Basu (Rajya Sabha).
Since the petitions lacked requisite information like the period from when they were holding the office of profit and whether they occupied them prior to their elections or after that, the commission has decided to send a notice to them seeking relevant information by April 17.
Observing that all petitions lacked relevant information, he said the commission would be seeking information from them.
Tandon said if the period pertained to post-election, the commission would come into the picture. If it was before their election, then the petitioners should approach courts.
The CEC said the commission Friday received a reference from the Jharkhand governor with regard to four MLAs -- Khiru Mahato, Karia Munda, Chatrulal Ram Mahato and Saryu Rai -- whose disqualification has been sought.
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