BHUBANESWAR: Rebel Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Harihar Swain was disqualified from the Lok Sabha today under the anti-defection law.
Swain had defied the party whip during the July 22 trust vote and cross-voted in favour of Congress. Speaker Somnath Chatterjee’s action came four months after Swain was issued a show-cause notice asking him to explain why he violated the party whip in the trust motion. The BJD had expelled Swain a day after the trust vote and initiated disqualification proceedings against him.He represented Aska constituency, once represented by former chief minister Biju Patnaik and later by BJD chief Naveen Patnaik. Formerly a Congressman, Swain had joined the BJD on the eve of 2004 Lok Sabha elections.