Congress MP Radadiya resigns, retains his MLA seat

Ahmedabad: Congress MP from Porbandar Vitthal Radadiya, who was involved in gun-totting controversy, on January 3 resigned from the Lok Sabha and decided to retain his seat in state Assembly. "I have decided to stay in Gujarat to work for the people here by being an MLA and have resigned from Lok Sabha seat," said Radadiya. "Today I have sent my resignation letter to Lok Sabha Speaker," he added.

Vitthal Radadiya had caused embarrassment to the Congress party when he had brandished his gun at a toll plaza staff on October 11 last year at Karjan in Vadodara. Radadiya, who also got elected from Dhoraji Assembly seat had to take a call by January 3 if he wanted to retain his Assembly seat or not.

As per constitutional provisions, a leader who gets elected from both Parliament and state Assembly seats can only represent in one House and has to decide within 15 days of his last election. During the recent Assembly elections in Gujarat, out of three MPs fielded by Congress, two - Radadiya and Somabhai Patel- won their Assembly seats and one, Kunvarji Bavalia lost.

Patel, the MP from Surendranagar, had decided to retain his Lok Sabha seat and resigned as MLA from Limdi. "Somabhai Patel has sent his resignation letter to the state Assembly," state Congress unit spokesperson Manish Doshi said.

Congress party in the state is now facing a peculiar situation on the issue of selecting Leader of Opposition in Assembly as Radadiya has openly staked his claims for the post. "As I am the senior most leader in the party here with getting elected in the state Assembly for the sixth time, I have also asked the party to consider my name for the post of the Leader of Opposition," Radadiya claimed while talking to reporters.

"I had made my situation clear to party high command too," he added. "I got elected from Dhoraji Assembly seat in a very tough situation and they have voted for me only after I promised them that if I would win I will stay here in the state to serve them," Radadiya claimed.

He won the recent Assembly elections with a margin of 2,943 votes. With the resignation of Soma Patel, the strength of Congress in the 182-seat Assembly has reduced to 59, as Savita Khant, who won from Morva Hadaf seat in Panchmahal district, died on December 21, a day after the state election results were declared.