Himachal Pradesh Congress crises: The 11 MLAs from Himachal Pradesh are planning to camp in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled Uttarakhand till the Supreme Court stays the Speaker’s decision to disqualify the six rebel MLAs from the Congress, a source close to BJP said on Saturday. The development came as 11 MLAs from the hill state arrived in Uttarakhand’s Rishikesh on Friday amid a political crisis in Himachal Pradesh.
The MLAs include six from Congress, who cross-voted during the Rajya Sabha election 2024, three independents, and two from the BJP. The legislators landed at Dehradun’s Jolly Grant airport on Friday and were taken to a resort in Singtali near Rishikesh.
“Eleven MLAs from Himachal Pradesh who flew from Chandigarh to Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun in a Chartered plane are staying at a resort near Rishikesh. The legislators included six Congress MLAs, three independents, and two BJP MLAs Bikram Singh Thakur from Jaswan-Paragpur and Rakesh Jamwal from Sundernagar. They will stay in Rishikesh until the Supreme Court hears the Speaker’s decision of disqualification,” a person familiar with the matter said.
Rajinder Rana (Sujanpur), Sudhir Sharma (Dharamshala), Indradutt Lakhanpal (Barsar), Ravi Thakur (Lahaul-Spiti), Chaitanya Sharma (Gagret) and Devendra Bhutto (Kutlehar) are the six MLAs from Congress who were disqualified from the Himachal Pradesh Assembly for cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha elections.
Moreover, three independent MLAs- Ashish Sharma (Hamirpur), Hoshiyar Singh (Dehra), and KL Thakur (Nalagarh) also voted for the BJP candidate, which led to the victory of Harsh Mahajan and a humiliating loss for senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi. ‘
‘BJP is committing constitutional sin’: Congress
The Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Himachal Pradesh government targeted the BJP on the developments and said the saffron party is committing a ‘constitutional sin.’ The grand old party questioned the sources of finances of rebel MLAs for staying in luxurious hotels and flights.
“By bringing the rebel MLAs who were disqualified from Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly to Uttarakhand, the BJP has committed a constitutional sin,” Congress leader Shanti Prasad Bhatt said.
“Who is bearing the expenses of air services and luxurious hotels for rebel MLAs? What will be the total expenditure of the government machinery to ensure their security? And how many security personnel are deployed in their security?” he asked.
Himachal govt will soon fall: Union Minister
Meanwhile, Union Minister BL Verma spoke with reporters in Haridwar and said that the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government in Himachal Pradesh will soon fall. “The Sukhu government in Himachal Pradesh is battling internal conflicts. It will not last long because of this infighting,” Verma said.
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Published: 09 Mar 2024, 05:06 PM IST