Bhopal:
In a setback to the opposition BJP, Madhya Pradesh Assembly secretariat on Saturday announced disqualification of BJP MLA from Pawai, Prahlad Lodhi, following his conviction in a criminal case.
It also informed the Election Commission that Pawai seat has now fallen vacant. On Thursday, a Bhopal court sentenced Lodhi and 12 others to two years in jail for attacking a Tehsildar (revenue official) in 2014.
Speaker NP Prajapati said as per the Supreme Court’s ruling, a public representative should be disqualified as soon as he or she is convicted, and the rule was followed in Lodhi’s case.
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An Assembly official said that as per the apex court’s ruling, a legislator is disqualified if he or she is sentenced to two years or more in jail. Ruling Congress has 115 members in 230-member MP Assembly, while the BJP had 108 MLAs, now reduced to 107 with Lodhhi’s disqualification.
