By TCN Staff Reporter,
New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Saturday admitted a petition challenging election of Union Minister E Ahmed from Malappuram Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala over the merger of his party, Muslim League Kerala State Committee (MLKSC) with the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
Admitting the petition filed by Fatima Musaffar, national general secretary of the rebel fraction of IUML; Justice Vipin Sanghi issued notices to E Ahmed, the Election Commission (EC), Law Ministry and the Lok Sabha Speaker; thus seeking their response by July 12.
The petitioner sought direction from the court to the Lok Sabha Speaker to disqualify Ahmed from membership of the House and declare his election as null and void. It further accused that, the EC’s favourable decision on merger is as the result of conspiracies carried out by E Ahmed.
The two parties are registered as independent, separate parties under the EC; MLKSC which contests elections with the ladder symbol is an EC approved political party and IUML in the EC records is a registered party that doesn’t even contest in the elections, having no election symbols.
E Ahmed reached Parliament as MP in the MLKSC ticket but he is the national president of IUML as well. Citing his dual membership in two independent parties the rebel IUML leaders, Prof Basheer Ahmed and Davood Mia Khan had earlier approached EC asking to abandon his Lok Sabha membership. EC then had sought explanation from E Ahmed.
It was since then on 26 Nov, MLKSC merged with IUML with the intension of protecting E Ahmed over the dual membership issue. E Ahmed, as the national President of the party, later notified EC regarding IUML’s acceptance of the merger.
It was on 3rd March, EC accepted MLKSC’s merger with IUML and thus sanctioned the election symbol ‘ladder’ to the IUML, Kerala State Committee. The EC order further pointed out that Prof Basheer Ahmed and Davood Mia khan are not IUML members by which the commission rejected their claim that ‘theirs is the real IUML’.
It was against this order they approached the high court; the parliament secretariat through RTI had earlier replied that E Ahmed reached parliament by contesting in the MLKSC ticket, “how can he then accept the merger holding the position of IUML national president?” asked the petition.
The petition further questions, EC’s decision to pronounce them as not members of IUML as they say that, EC haven’t even sought explanation from their part.
The rebel IUML workers yesterday protested in Chennai against the EC decision by holding dharna raising black flags under the leadership Fatima Musaffar.