Six Congress MLAs have been disqualified for cross-voting in Rajya Sabha polls
Today, the Speaker of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly announced the disqualification of six Congress MLAs who cross-voted for the BJP in the Rajya Sabha election.
The BJP had previously applauded and congratulated the six MLAs for their actions, but their move ultimately backfired. The disqualified MLAs include Rajinder Rana, Sudhir Sharma, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Devinder Kumar Bhutoo, Ravi Thakur, and Chetanya Sharma.
Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania stated that the disqualification stemmed from the MLAs defying the party whip to vote in favor of the government on the Finance Bill. The assembly passed the state Budget after the Speaker suspended 15 BJP MLAs.
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The actions of the six MLAs were deemed to violate the anti-defection law.
With the disqualification of these MLAs, the ruling Congress in Himachal Pradesh has managed to avert a potential crisis after concerns arose over the BJP’s return to power with a no-confidence vote. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra questioned whether the BJP, with only 25 MLAs, was orchestrating efforts to overthrow the state government.
Following the disqualification, the Congress now holds 34 MLAs in the 62-member house, with three independent MLAs who had previously supported the Congress also cross-voting for the BJP in the Rajya Sabha election.
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Priyanka Gandhi emphasized the importance of democracy, stating that the people of Himachal Pradesh had elected the Congress government with a clear majority. She accused the BJP of attempting to undermine the people’s right to choose their government through the misuse of financial power, agency influence, and central government authority.
