Six Biju Janata Dal (BJD) legislators who were issued show-cause notices for supporting independent candidate Dilip Ray in the March 16 Rajya Sabha elections have called the notices 'illegal, arbitrary, baseless, and unconstitutional.'
The MLAs cited Supreme Court verdicts and Election Commission guidelines to argue that political parties could not issue whips in Rajya Sabha elections, and that their votes were cast freely and lawfully.
They cited court verdicts such as Kuldip Nayar vs Union of India (2006), Pashupati Nath Sukul vs Nem Chandra Jain (1984), and Kihoto Hollohan vs Zachillhu (1992) to assert that the anti-defection provisions in the Constitution's Tenth Schedule did not apply to Rajya Sabha elections.
The MLAs also pointed to the Election Commission of India Press Note dated July 6, 2017, which said that electors in Rajya Sabha polls enjoy voting freedom unconstrained by party directions.
They reasoned that the party's letter on how to vote in the election amounted to offences under sections 171 and 174 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 that relate to undue influence in elections.
The MLAs demanded the immediate withdrawal of the notices and warned that failure to comply would result in 'appropriate legal and criminal proceedings.'
