Jai Prakash gets reprieve

LUCKNOW: Tormented and terrorised, jailed BSP rebel Jai Prakash Yadav got a temporary reprieve on Monday when UP assembly speaker Kesharinath Tripathi allowed him to use his office for drafting the reply. The jailed BSP MLA, who was produced before the speaker on Monday, had sought more time on the pretext of not being allowed to meet his counsel in Gorakhpur jail.“I am continuously being harassed at the behest of the Mayawati government. How could I prepare the reply when my counsel is not being allowed to meet me,� he told the speaker.
Accepting the BSP MLA’s plea, the speaker gave him three days more time allowing him to file his reply by 1.00 pm on January 23. The speaker also directed the home secretary to shift Yadav from Gorakhpur jail to Lucknow jail till January 23 and make arrangement for bringing him to his office on Tuesday for drafting the reply with the help of his counsel.
The speaker, however, made it clear to the BSP MLA that January 23 was the deadline for filing the reply, failing which, he would be forced to set aside the disqualification petition, filed by chief minister Mayawati, ex parte. The speaker also allowed three days more time to ten BJP rebels when their counsel IB Singh petitioned that the reply was partially drafted but remained incomplete due to ongoing lawyers’ strike. The BJP rebels have also been given January 23 as the last date for filing their replies. This was for the third time in a month that the speaker extended the deadline. Earlier, Tripathi had set January 6 as the deadline for filing replies but the date was extended to January 13. The last date for filing replies was again extended and rebels were directed to file their replies by January 18 (in case of BSP rebel) and January 20 (BJP rebels). But the speaker was persuaded again by rebels on Monday for extending the date to January 23. With ruling candidates elected unopposed to the upper house, the BJP seems interested in dragging the case till three rebels, namely Ravindra Pundir, Kovid Kumar Singh and Narendra Verma also close their ranks like seven others who pledged to return to party fold.
The speaker’s ruling on the disqualification petitions, filed by Mayawati and BJPLP leader Lalji Tandon, will only open the case for hearing which may take a long time before the speaker decides the fate of 11 rebels from both ruling parties.
Tandon has already hinted that the party may withdraw or not press cases against those already back in the party fold. However, the going will be tough for the BSP rebel as the BSP vice-president Mayawati is taking no chances to get his membership terminated.