The Newz Radar
MANDI: Himachal Pradesh Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur along with BJP MLAs met Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla in Shimla early Wednesday and demanded division of votes for the budget session in the House.
Jai Ram expressed apprehension that the Congress government led by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu may take action under the anti-defection law against his party MLAs who cross-voted for the BJP candidate so as to pass its budget. He also said the anti-defection law did not apply in the Rajya Sabha elections.
The former Chief Minister also informed the Governor about all the activities taking place during the session and told how the marshals allegedly misbehaved and accompanied the BJP MLAs while going to the Speaker’s room. He also told the Governor that a demand for division of vote would be made while passing the budget.
“Along with this, division will also be demanded on the cut motion. This demand is not being fulfilled,” he informed the Governor about the whole incident and informed him that at present the Congress government in the state was in a minority.
In the aftermath of Tuesday’s Rajya Sabha election, which saw BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan defeat leading lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi of the Congress, tensions have been simmering between the two political parties in Himachal. The election results, where Mahajan won through lottery after a tie, has left the Congress-led state government grappling with a crisis.
Singhvi denounced the BJP’s victory, decrying what he perceived as electoral malpractices and criticising the BJP’s decision to field a candidate when they had much lesser MLAs.
On the other hand, Chief Minister Sukhu expressed disappointment over the defection of certain MLAs, accusing them of betrayal and affirming the Congress government’s continued majority support in the Assembly.
