In December 2017, one of the most senior politicians and 10-time MP Sharad Yadav was disqualified from his Rajya Sabha membership by vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu creating a big debate in political circles.
While Sharad Yadav and his supporting parties cried foul but Venkaiah Naidu was appreciated for not sparing a dissident who revolted against Janata Dal (U) president and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, following the differences in the party.
Since Election Commission recognised Nitish group as the real Janata Dal, Sharad Yadav was declared a rebel.
The Nitish group submitted all the evidence to Venkaiah to show that Sharad Yadav had resorted to anti-party activities and hence, he be disqualified under the anti-defection law. And Venkaiah went by the rule book and disqualified Sharad Yadav from RS membership.
So far so good. Now the question is whether Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla would follow the same principle of Venkaiah in taking action against YSR Congress party MP from Narasapuram K Raghurama Krishnam Raju, who has rebelled against the party.
There have been reports that YSRC parliamentary party led by V Vijay Sai Reddy would soon submit a petition to the Lok Sabha speaker along with proofs showing the anti-party activities of Raghurama Krishnam Raju, soon after suspending him from the party.
The comments made by Raju during the political debates in the electronic media, his public utterances questioning the authority of YSRC president and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, the way he has belittled the party in his reply to Sai Reddy, his comments against the policy decisions of the party and his allegations against the Jagan Mohan Reddy government – are all enough to prove that Raju has violated the party discipline.
These evidences are as strong as the ones produced by Nitish group to get Sharad Yadav disqualified. Going by the rule book, the Lok Sabha speaker will also have to disqualify Raghurama Krishnam Raju.
But one wonders whether it will happen. Reason is simple: Sharad Yadav was a strong opponent of the BJP and questioned Nitish friendship with the BJP. So, he was axed.
On the other hand, Raghurama Krishnam Raju is getting closer to the BJP and so, the chances of him being disqualified are less, say analysts.