Eleven Himachal Pradesh MLAs, including six rebels and three independent representatives, arrived in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand, signaling ongoing infighting within the state Congress.
As per reports, the group, disembarking from a heavily guarded bus with Haryana’s number plate, reached Uttarakhand’s Rishikesh’s Taj Hotel on Saturday.
This comes only two days after Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu visited Delhi to meet top Congress leaders. As per reports, the visit is regarding the recent political developments in the state and Lok Sabha elections preparations.
The six rebel MLAs who were disqualified from the Assembly were Sudhir Sharma, Rajinder Rana, Davinder K Bhutto, Ravi Thakur, Chaitanya Sharma, and Inder Dutt Lakhanpal under the anti-defection law. After the 2022 Assembly elections, the Congress had 40 MLAs, while the BJP had 25 in the 68-member state assembly. The remaining three seats are held by independents.
These rebel legislators have cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha polls. In the Rajya Sabha election recently, the BJP, which has only 25 MLAs, managed to secure 9 additional votes.
On being asked whether he is in contact with the rebel MLAs Sukhu said, “I am working for the welfare of people. My Council of Ministers and MLAs are busy with that. None of the MLAs have got in touch with me.”
BJP trying to topple government: Sukhu
Meanwhile, he slammed the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which was apparently trying to topple his government by keeping the rebel Congress MLAs under the stiff security cover of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
Sukhu said that their family members were putting pressure on them to come back to their home state.
“I have just come to know through social media that they (rebel MLAs) were taken away from the hotel in Panchkula and a charter plane flew from Chandigarh airport. I don’t know where it will land. This is because their family members were putting pressure on them to return,” Sukhu said.
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Published: 09 Mar 2024, 01:27 PM IST