TNR Desk
Six disqualified Congress MLAs — Sudhir Sharma, Rajinder Rana, Davinder Bhutto, Ravi Thakur, ID Lakhanpal and Chaitanya Sharma — along with three independent MLAs, KL Thakur, Hoshiar Singh and Ashish Sharma, who stirred up a storm in Himachal Pradesh politics, reached Rishikesh in Uttarakhand on Friday (March 8, 2024).
They landed at Dehradun airport in Jolly Grant via a chartered plane and proceeded to an undisclosed location from there. According to sources, all these MLAs are learnt to be staying in a large group hotel approximately 30 km from Rishikesh.
It is worth noting that the six disqualified Congress MLAs have challenged the decision of Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania in the Supreme Court, and all eyes are now on the apex court. The recent development has reignited the political atmosphere in Himachal Pradesh.
Following cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha election by the six disqualified Congress MLAs on February 27, all the leaders had travelled from Shimla to Panchkula. After arriving in Shimla for the budget session on February 28 under the protection of the CRPF, they returned to Panchkula once again. Since February 28, they have not returned to Himachal.
Sources suggest that they may proceed to another undisclosed location from there. Alongside the rebel MLAs, two BJP MLAs are also said to be present.
Pathania had disqualified the six Congress MLAs due to their absence during the passage of the budget in the Vidhan Sabha. They have appealed to the Supreme Court against the Speaker’s decision, with the hearing expected to take place next week.
Both the Congress and the BJP are closely monitoring the situation. Sources indicate that both parties have devised strategies for the potential outcomes, including the suspension of the disqualification or the validation of the Assembly Speaker’s decision.
