Himachal Pradesh Assembly speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania on February 29 disqualified the six rebel Congress MLAs who cross-voted during the Rajya Sabha elections.
The six rebel Congress MLAs who cross-voted, along with three independents, during Rajya Sabha polls have been disqualified for violating the whip and skipping the budget session.
The six leaders cease to be members of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly with immediate effect.
“Six MLAs, who contested on Congress symbol, attracted provisions of anti-defection law against themselves. I declare that the six people cease to be members of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly with immediate effect,” Pathania said.
The Congress party had moved Himachal Pradesh Speaker seeking disqualification of the six rebel MLAs.
The petition was filed by Congress MLA and parliamentary affairs Minister Harsh Wardhan Chauhan under anti-defection law. These six MLAs, besides three independents, had cross-voted and helped BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan win a Rajya Sabha seat from the hill state on February 27. Later it also left the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led government on the brink.
Congress is in power in Himachal Pradesh and has 40 MLAs, besides the support of three independent MLAs, in the 68-member house. Despite the numbers, the Congress candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi lost the Rajya Sabha seat.
Also Read : Crisis looms over Himachal Pradesh Congress government after Vikramaditya Singh’s resignation
The results were tied at 34 votes each. The winner Harsh Mahajan was announced after draw of lots compounding Congress woes in the hill state as the Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government looks at a possibility of collapse of the Congress government.
The crisis deepened on Wednesday with the resignation of Vikramaditya Singh from the council of ministers in Himachal Pradesh. Later in the day Singh said he was not pressing for the resignation yet.
(This is a developing story. Check back for updates)
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Published: 29 Feb 2024, 11:36 AM IST