A Bharatiya Janata Party delegation on Wednesday met Himachal Pradesh Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla to demand the division of votes in the Assembly to pass the state’s Budget, ANI reported.
BJP leader and former Chief Minister Jairam Thakur told reporters that the ruling Congress has “lost the mandate” to govern the state. This was after the party’s candidate Harsh Mahajan defeated the Congress’ Abhishek Singhvi on Tuesday in the elections for the lone Rajya Sabha seat that was up for grabs.
Thakur said that on Tuesday, Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania did not allow the division of votes in cut motions for the Budget. A cut motion allows legislators to oppose a demand being discussed for specific budgetary allocation by the government.
“We informed the governor [on Wednesday] about whatever happened inside the state Assembly recently,” Thakur said. “During the Budget Session, discussions are held on cut motions, the concerned ministers reply, after that voting takes place, and if the Opposition is not satisfied by the voice voting, they have the right to ask for the division of vote. But the Speaker ignored our plea and adjourned the House.”
On Wednesday, the Speaker suspended 15 BJP MLAs, including Thakur, from the Assembly. They were suspended for allegedly “shouting slogans and misconduct” in the Speaker’s chamber, ANI reported.
This came hours after Thakur said that the Speaker could suspend his party’s MLAs to “comfortably pass the Budget”.
Congress MLA quits as minister
In the wake of the Rajya Sabha election result, Congress MLA Vikramaditya Singh resigned as a state minister.
“All I would like to say is that under the current circumstances, it is not correct for me to continue as a part of the government,” Vikramaditya Singh said. “So, I have decided that I am resigning from the Council of Ministers. I am resigning as a minister. In the time to come, I will have video consultations with my people and then decide about the future course of action.”
Vikramaditya Singh, the son of late Congress leader Virbhadra Singh, added: “I have never said anything about the functioning of the government, but it is my responsibility to say it clearly today…The kind of system prevailing in the government in last one year, how MLAs were overlooked and attempts were made to stifle their voices – this is a result of that.”
Cross-voting in Rajya Sabha polls
While the Congress has 40 MLAs in the 68-member Assembly, the BJP has 25 seats. The remaining three members are independents.
The Rajya Sabha election on Tuesday resulted in a tie with both candidates securing 34 votes. This indicated that six Congress MLAs had voted against their party’s candidate. Mahajan was then declared the winner based on a draw of lots, as per the procedure.
After the voting on Tuesday, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu alleged that the six Congress MLAs had been taken to BJP-ruled Haryana in a convoy of the state’s police and the Central Reserve Police Force.
Thakur, the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, told reporters on Tuesday night that Sukhu should resign from his position after Congress’ loss in the polls. “The MLAs have left him [Sukhu] just within a year,” Thakur said.
On Wednesday, Thakur said that some Congress MLAs had received notices “who have voted in the Rajya Sabha elections”. “Cross-voting is not invalid in Rajya Sabha, as directed by the Election Commission,” Thakur added.
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