On February 29, Thursday, Himachal Pradesh Assembly speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania disqualified the six rebel Congress MLAs and three independents who cross-voted during the Rajya Sabha elections for violating the whip and skipping the budget session. The six leaders cease to be members of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly with immediate effect.
The decision came after the Congress party moved the state’s Assembly Speaker seeking the disqualification of the six rebel MLAs. The petition was filed by Congress MLA and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harsh Wardhan Chauhan under the anti-defection law.
Speaking to news agency ANI, the speaker said, “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.”
Cross-voting during Himachal Pradesh Rajya Sabha Elections
On February 27, voting for 56 Rajya Sabha seats from 15 states occurred. In Himachal Pradesh, there was just one Rajya Sabha seat, which the BJP President J P Nadda vacated.
Before the Rajya Sabha Assembly polls, the Congress party had issued a whip urging all MLAs to vote for the party’s nominee, Abhishek Manu Singhvi. The BJP then criticised the measure, claiming that parliamentarians have the freedom to vote based on their views.
Due to internal party unrest, however, 9 MLAs cross-voted on Tuesday resulting in the loss of the Congress party candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi and the win of BJP’s Harsh Mahajan. These included Rajendra Rana, an MLA who had been demanding the ouster of Sukhu as CM.
Congress has been in power in the state 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 leaving the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led administration in jeopardy.