Bhubaneswar: After Odisha Congress moved a petition seeking his disqualification as MLA, Dasarathi Gamango rejected the allegation that he resorted to cross-voting in the recent Rajya Sabha election going against party decision.
Asserting that he had the right to cast vote, the legislator from Mohana told reporters that he cast his vote in the biennial election held on March 16 as per the instruction of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC).
Rejecting the allegation of cross-voting against him, Gamango claimed that he voted in accordance with the instruction of OPCC president Bhakta Charan Das.
“I had the right to vote, and the PCC called us to cast our votes, so I did,” he said, adding that he did not cross-vote as he continues to be in Congress and will remain with the party.
“It is being said that I indulged in cross voting. But how could that be? What does cross voting mean? Voting is my right, and I exercised it… What can I do? I have been with Congress for thirty years and I will remain in Congress,” said Gamango.
It may be noted that Odisha Congress moved a petition, seeking disqualification of Sofia Firdous (Barabati-Cuttack) and Dasarathi Gamango (Mohana) as MLAs under the Tenth Schedule (Anti-Defection Law) of the Constitution of India. Congress whip C S Raazen Ekka submitted the petition to Assembly Speaker on Wednesday.
In case of Dasarathi, the petition said that he deliberately remained unreachable and did not communicate with the party leadership. “A show-cause notice was issued to the said member regarding his conduct. In his reply to the said notice, he has questioned and criticised the decision of the party leadership,” it said.
The petition cited the disqualification of Sharad Yadav from Rajya Sabha in 2017 when conduct and public statements were deemed sufficient to establish defection.
