Question: Recently which state has 17 MLAs of congress has disqualified?
(a) Karnataka
(b) Maharashtra
(c) Goa
(d) New Delhi
Answer: (a)
Related facts:
- The Supreme Court has upheld former Karnataka Speaker’s decision to disqualify the 17 rebel MLAs of the Congress and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) in Karnataka under Anti-Defection law.
- The Court clarified that the disqualification is till their re-election and not till the end of the term of the house as ruled by the speaker.
- The MLAs were disqualified by the then Legislative Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar ahead of the floor test of the HD Kumaraswamy government.
Anti-Defection Law:
- The tenth schedule of the Constitution lays down the process by which legislators can be disqualified on grounds of defection by the presiding officer of the legislature.
- A MLA is deemed to have been defected:
- if he voluntarily gives up his membership of the party
- If he disobeys party leadership on a vote