Bengaluru: A day after Legislative Council Chairman D.H. Shankaramurthy slapped notices on seven Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) MLCs for claiming to be residents of the city, but taking home an out- of- town travel allowance as well, Congress MLC, V.S. Ugrappa accused him of acting in violation of the rules himself.
“First the petition is non-maintainable. Why was such a petition was accepted by the Chairman at all ?” he wondered, speaking to reporters here on Friday.
Mr Shankaramurthy has recalled in his notices that the MLCs, who had voted in the Mayoral and Deputy Mayoral elections of the BBMP council, had submitted affidavits claiming to be residents of Bengaluru but had claimed travel allowance for journeying from the districts to attend it.
But coming to the defence of the MLCs, Mr Ugrappa contended that the Chairman could disqualify members if they violated a whip, but had no powers to inquire into a case involving the Representation of People’s Act.
Also arguing that he was not empowered to issue notices directly, he said, “He should refer the matter to a committee headed by the Deputy Chairman of the House. But unfortunately, the Chairman himself has issued these notices.”
Referring to the rules and procedures of the Legislative Council , he maintained that any petition submitted to the Chairman must be kept secret, but in this case, it had been made public.
“We suspect the notices were served because the MLCs have filed a no-confidence motion against him,” Mr Ugrappa charged.
