Himachal Political Turmoil: Ex-Congress MLAs Move to Supreme Court Against Disqualification

After cross-voting in the recent Rajya Sabha polls in Himachal Pradesh, six MLAs from Congress were disqualified. The MLAs moved to the apex court on Tuesday against their disqualification.

The disqualified MLAs have submitted an appeal against the ruling made by state Legislative Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania on February 29.

The Assembly Speaker’s order was termed as “illegal and constitutional” by the disqualified legislators.

Having supported the BJP candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections, these rebel Congressmen later refrained from voting on the Budget, going against the wishes of their party whip.

The disqualified MLAs under the anti-defection law are Rajinder Rana, Sudhir Sharma, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Devinder Kumar Bhutoo, Ravi Thakur, and Chetanya Sharma.

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The House’s effective strength decreased from 68 to 62 after their disqualification, and the number of Congress MLAs decreased from 40 to 34.

The Himachal Pradesh government, headed by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu, was in danger of collapsing after the vote. According to Jairam Thakur, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, the state’s ruling Congress is attempting to remove seven BJP MLAs from the House to maintain its hold on power.

Jairam Thakur stated, “It has been proved that Congress has lost the majority in Himachal Pradesh. There is not just one but many evidences in this regard. Notices are being given to 7 BJP MLAs through the Privileges Committee. It is being done to disqualify them from the Assembly and to reduce the strength of the opposition… We are examining it legally…The truth is that the CM and his government should accept that they do not have the majority.”