Atul Rai may lose his LS membership if he fails to take oath

New Delhi, June 18 (IANS) Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP from Ghosi Atul Rai, an accused in a rape case, may lose his membership if he fails to take oath within 60 sittings of the Lok Sabha.

Speaking to IANS, former Additional Secretary of Lok Sabha Devinder Singh said, "If a member fails to take oath within 60 sittings of the House, then he will lose the membership."

He said when any member misses the parliament session for 60 days, then there is a motion brought before the House after which he loses his membership.

Singh said if a member has not taken oath, then he is not eligible to participate in the debate and in the voting process in Parliament. Rai skipped oath taking in Parliament on Monday as well as on Tuesday.

The BSP MP has been absconding for over a month since he was made an accused in a rape case. He has not surrendered and even his anticipatory bail pleas have been rejected by courts.

Rai won from the Ghosi seat by a big margin even after he did not campaign. He went missing after a woman from Ballia accused him of rape and filed a case against him in May.

However, the BSP leader was active on Facebook till May 27. In his last video post after the Lok Sabha win, he thanked people for backing him. He also said that the no court is higher than the people's court. "The people's court has acquitted its son."

On May 27, he also shared a post on his Facebook wall attaching the copy of the Supreme Court order saying the petitioner has withdrawn her complaint from the top court as the High Court has given the date of hearing in the matter.

"But a few people are spreading false information that my application has been rejected," he said.

A woman from Ballia had accused Rai of raping her in May this year. In Rai's absence, BSP supremo Mayawati and Samajwadiu Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had held a joint rally in Ghosi on May 15.