Two UP MLAs disqualified for holding office of profit

LUCKNOW: Following recommendations by the Lok Ayukta, governor Ram Naik on Thursday announced the disqualification of two MLAs Bajrang Bahadur Singh of BJP, and BSP's Uma Shankar Singh, from the UP Assembly. The disqualification, which comes into effect immediately, follows charges of holding offices of profit, while drawing salaries as members of the legislative assembly.While Bajrang Bahadur Singh was elected from Pharenda in Maharajganj, Uma Shankar Singh from Rasra in Ballia district. Both were elected to the UP assembly in the 2012 Assembly elections.
Earlier, Lokayukta N K Mehrotra had recommended the disqualification of the two MLAs after he found, during a probe, that both Singh Bajrang Bahadur and Uma Shankar had been working as contractors even after being elected to the UP Assembly.
After the charges were examined and found true by the Election Commission of India, the Raj Bhawan in UP was notified for their disqualification. Naik had sought a report from the EC on Lokayukta's recommendation to disqualify Bajrang Bahadur Singh from the date he procured government contract after his election on October 15, 2012. Uma Shankar Singh too had, from the day he became an MLA on March 6, 2012, kept his job as a contractor even after he was elected.
Earlier this month, Naik had also given an opportunity to the two MLAs to turn in their own representation with regard to the charges made against them. The two MLAs also met Naik, submitting to him their response to the charges made. After obtaining legal opinion on the matter, however, both MLAs were found flouting the tenets of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. They were, as a result, disqualified.