Bhubaneswar, April 11: Two Odisha MLAs, Arabinda Dhali and Premananda Nayak, have been disqualified by the Odisha Assembly Speaker under the provision outlined in paragraph 6(1) of the 10th Schedule to the Constitution of India. The disqualification follows their recent defection to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after resigning from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) ahead of the General Elections 2024.

The notification regarding the disqualification of the two members was issued by the Odisha Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.

The decision by Odisha Assembly Speaker Pramila Mallick was prompted by a petition filed on March 18 by Government Chief Whip MLA Prasanta Kumar Muduli, invoking Rule 6 of the Members of Odisha Legislative Assembly (Disqualification on Ground of Defection) Rules, 1978, framed under paragraph 8 of the 10th Schedule to the Indian Constitution.

Muduli's petition sought the disqualification of the two members on the grounds that they had voluntarily relinquished their primary membership from the BJD, the party through which they were elected to the Assembly.

Despite being issued notices for individual hearings, Dhali and Nayak neither responded to the petition nor appeared before the Speaker for the hearing, leading to their immediate disqualification.

As a result of this decision, two seats in the Odisha Legislative Assembly will now become vacant.

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