Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Wednesday denied reports claiming that he has resigned from the post, ANI reported.
This came amid tensions within the Congress after its candidate Abhishek Singhvi lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Harsh Mahajan on Tuesday in the elections for the lone Rajya Sabha seat that was up for grabs, amid cross-voting by six party MLAs.
Sukhu asserted on Wednesday that the Congress would prove that it has the majority in the state Assembly.
“I rose from the politics of struggle and came from an ordinary family,” he told reporters. “We will win, the people of Himachal will win.”
In the wake of the Rajya Sabha election result, Congress MLA Vikramaditya Singh said earlier on Wednesday that he was resigning as a state minister. He said that in the current circumstances, it would not be correct for him to continue being part of the government.
“I have never said anything about the functioning of the government, but it is my responsibility to say it clearly today…” Vikramaditya Singh, the son of late Congress leader Virbhadra Singh, said. “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.”
The chief minister said that Vikramaditya Singh’s resignation will not be accepted. He also claimed that one of the Congress MLAs who cross-voted for BJP candidate has sought an apology from the party.
Amid the political crisis, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said that the party’s leadership had asked him to go to Himachal Pradesh and resolve the problem.
He added that he was confident that Congress legislators would remain loyal to the party. “However, what should be questioned and worrisome is the extremes to which BJP is going in terms of acquiring power, deliberately attempting to crush democracy and public mandate in the process,” Shivakumar said.
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, 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, which reports to the Union home ministry.
BJP leader Jairam Thakur 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.
Thakur, the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, told reporters on Wednesday that the Congress “has lost the mandate” to govern the state.
Thakur also 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.
Sukhu on Wednesday claimed that the Congress was in touch with some MLAs who had voted in favour of the BJP.
BJP calls for division of votes on Budget
A BJP delegation met Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla on Wednesday morning to demand the division of votes in the Assembly to pass the state’s Budget.
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.
On Wednesday morning, the Speaker suspended Thakur and 14 other BJP MLAs from the Assembly. They were expelled for “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”.
The Speaker later adjourned the Assembly sine die after the state’s Budget for the financial year 2024-’25 was passed by a voice vote in the absence of BJP legislators. While 15 of them were suspended, the remaining 10 walked out of the House in protest.
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