Raising Dissent Doesn’t Amount To Leaving Party: Team Pilot’s Counsel

New Delhi:

Raising a voice of dissent and asking for the chief minister to be eliminated doesn’t quantity to leaving the celebration, senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi mentioned at the moment on Sachin Pilot’s revolt, hours after the Rajasthan High Court mentioned no motion must be taken on disqualification notices served to Congress rebels for now.

“Sachin Pilot has on record said he is not joining the BJP. He has raised a voice of dissent, everyone has the right to dissent,” mentioned Mr Rohatgi, who’s the lawyer for Sachin Pilot and 18 Congress insurgent MLAs who’ve gone to court docket towards disqualification notices served to them final week.

An MLA will be disqualified if he’s seen to have voluntarily leaving the membership of the celebration, Mr Rohatgi mentioned.

“A man says I want to remain a Congressman and want to bolster the party by changing the Chief Minister, how is that anti-party?”

“He (Sachin Pilot) wants the Chief Minister to be removed, not the party,” Mr Rohatgi mentioned.

Rajasthan Speaker CP Joshi despatched the disqualification notices after Mr Pilot and different rebels skipped two conferences known as by the Chief Minister final week.

The rebels argued in court docket that not attending conferences exterior the home doesn’t quantity to “voluntarily leaving membership of the party”.

Comparisons have been drawn to Sharad Yadav, who was disqualified as a Rajya Sabha member of the Janata Dal United for attending an opposition assembly.

“I can only say that Sharad Yadav did not have sound legal advice. Question of disqualification for not attending a legislative party meeting outside the house cannot be part of the 10th schedule of the constitution,” mentioned Mr Rohatgi.

He additionally sought to attract a distinction between not attending celebration conferences and attending an opposition rally, which supplies a “whole different message”.

Mr Rohatgi additionally rubbished hypothesis that he’s a “pro-dispensation lawyer” – he was appointed Attorney General after the BJP got here to energy in 2014 – and so, displays the BJP’s tacit assist to group Pilot.

“I was Attorney General during BJP rule, that is why these allegations are being levelled. There is not one politician who I have not appeared for in the past 20 years. I appeared for DK Shivakumar (Congress) four days ago in the Supreme Court on some tax case. I got him bail. I have appeared for AIADMK, Telangana. I am a professional,” Mr Rohatgi asserted.