Blow to rebel MLAs in Himachal: Supreme Court refuses to stay Speaker's disqualification decision
The Speaker disqualified six Congress MLAs after they cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha polls in Himachal Pradesh.
- Mar 18, 2024,
- Updated Mar 18, 2024 2:08 PM IST
The six disqualified Congress MLAs in Himachal Pradesh suffered a setback on Monday as the Supreme Court refused to stay the Assembly Speaker's decision to disqualify them. The top court also denied permission to vote or participate in the House proceedings.
The Speaker disqualified six Congress MLAs after they cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha polls in Himachal Pradesh.
The former MLAs filed a plea against the decision of the state Legislative Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania. These Congress rebels, who had voted in favour of BJP's Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha polls on February 27, later abstained from voting on the Budget, defying a party whip.
Due to the cross-voting of these MLAs, senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi lost the Rajya Sabha election to BJP's Harsh Mahajan, who was once the political advisor to former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.
The rebellion by Congress MLAs pushed the Sukhu government on the verge of collapse. However, the government moved quickly and disqualified them. There was fear that they would join the BJP and bring down the Congress government in the state. The rebellion was led by Vikramaditya Singh, son of Congress Himachal chief Pratibha Singh.
Pratibha Singh also expressed displeasure at the functioning of the state government under Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
Earlier this month, the Himachal Pradesh Congress chief said it pains her a lot to see the six MLAs being disqualified, adding that the decision was made in "haste". "Their only mistake was they wanted to be heard. They didn't rebel immediately; it had happened over time. If you try to appease someone at the last moment, that doesn't solve the problem. Sukhu government should have listened to these rebel MLAs," she told India Today.
The six disqualified Congress MLAs in Himachal Pradesh suffered a setback on Monday as the Supreme Court refused to stay the Assembly Speaker's decision to disqualify them. The top court also denied permission to vote or participate in the House proceedings.
The Speaker disqualified six Congress MLAs after they cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha polls in Himachal Pradesh.
The former MLAs filed a plea against the decision of the state Legislative Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania. These Congress rebels, who had voted in favour of BJP's Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha polls on February 27, later abstained from voting on the Budget, defying a party whip.
Due to the cross-voting of these MLAs, senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi lost the Rajya Sabha election to BJP's Harsh Mahajan, who was once the political advisor to former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.
The rebellion by Congress MLAs pushed the Sukhu government on the verge of collapse. However, the government moved quickly and disqualified them. There was fear that they would join the BJP and bring down the Congress government in the state. The rebellion was led by Vikramaditya Singh, son of Congress Himachal chief Pratibha Singh.
Pratibha Singh also expressed displeasure at the functioning of the state government under Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
Earlier this month, the Himachal Pradesh Congress chief said it pains her a lot to see the six MLAs being disqualified, adding that the decision was made in "haste". "Their only mistake was they wanted to be heard. They didn't rebel immediately; it had happened over time. If you try to appease someone at the last moment, that doesn't solve the problem. Sukhu government should have listened to these rebel MLAs," she told India Today.