Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania on Thursday pronounced his order on the plea demanding the disqualification of 6 insurgent Congress MLAs who cross-voted throughout Rajya Sabha elections. The Speaker disqualified all 6 Congress MLAs. The petition was filed by Congress MLA and state Minister Harsh Wardhan Chauhan below the Anti-Defection Law for disqualification.
The order comes moments after Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday hosted a ‘breakfast assembly’ with Congress MLAs at his residence in Shimla amid buzz over his ousting as CM of the state. According to the sources, 26 MLAs out of 40 attend the assembly. The assembly is seen as an effort to mobilise MLAs in his help and a present of power. The sources mentioned a complete 29 MLAs are with the Sukhu camp.
Cross-voting triggers Himachal political disaster
In a shocking upset for the ruling Congress in Himachal Pradesh, the BJP on Tuesday received the state’s lone Rajya Sabha seat with its candidate Harsh Mahajan defeating Congress stalwart Abhishek Manu Singhvi and apparently setting the stage for a no-trust movement within the assembly. The voting on Tuesday was a tie with each the Congress and the BJP candidates getting 34 votes, indicating that at the least six Congress MLAs voted in opposition to the social gathering. The consequence was then declared on the premise of a draw of tons, officers mentioned.
In the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Assembly, the Congress has 40 MLAs whereas the BJP has 25 legislators. The remaining three seats are held by independents.
Will run authorities for 5 years, says CM Sukhu
Sukhu, who is dealing with a risk of shedding the CM publish, asserted that his authorities will full the total time period of 5 years. “Neither the high command has asked me nor anyone else for resignation and there is no such thing,” Sukhu instructed reporters whereas replying to a query.
‘Operation Lotus’: Sukhu slams BJP
He mentioned, “The kind of work done by the state BJP leaders. They did not trust their own people. CRPF was deployed. Haryana Police was deployed. A helicopter was used.”
“But I want to say one thing the people of Himachal are with us and MLAs are with us and I can definitely say that we will run the Himachal government for five years,” mentioned Sukhu.
Asked whether or not it was due to the “Operation Lotus” or “own people” that led to the present state of affairs, the chief minister mentioned, “Some mistakes may have been made and because of those mistakes, there may have been some deficiencies. But The kind of ‘tantar-mantar’ used in the ‘Operation Lotus’ that had bigger (role) in it.”
