Rajasthan BJP MLA disqualified after conviction

BJP MLA Kanwar Lal Meena has been disqualified from the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly. Meena represented the Anta constituency in Baran district. The decision was taken by Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani following Meena’s surrender in the Manoharthana Court. A formal notification was issued on Friday by the Assembly Secretariat. Meena's membership stands terminated effective from May 1.
The disqualification stems from a 2005 case related to the Sarpanch elections, in which Meena was accused of threatening the then Sub-Divisional Officer with a pistol. The court had sentenced him to three years of imprisonment. After the Supreme Court rejected his appeal, Meena surrendered before the Manoharthana Court.The BJP MLA surrendered before the Aklera court on May 21 and is currently lodged in jail. On December 14, 2020, a court in Aklera sentenced Meena to three years of imprisonment in the 20-year-old case, finding him guilty of obstructing government work, intimidating government officials and vandalising property.
The Election Commission has been informed of the vacancy following Meena's disqualification. Now, a by-election on the Anta seat should be held within six months, potentially before October 2025.In the 200-seat Rajasthan Assembly, the BJP has 118 MLAs and the Congress has 66 legislators.Earlier this month, the Congress had accused the Assembly Speaker of partisanship and announced that it will launch protest if Meena was not disqualified from House. Meena’s disqualification reduces the Rajasthan Assembly's strength to 199.
The termination came on the same day when Leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully filed a petition in the High Court, criticizing the delay in disqualifying Meena. The Congress has accused Speaker Devnani of bias, pointing to repeated requests made to the Speaker, the Chief Secretary, the Election Commission, and the Governor to expedite the process. Jully remarked, “It took 23 days to uphold the Constitution, which should have been followed immediately. We struggled to get justice.”