NEW DELHI: Deepening the political crisis in Himachal Pradesh and posing a serious threat to the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu govt in the state, six disqualified Congress legislators and three independents MLAs joined BJP in New Delhi on Saturday. The independent MLAs had resigned on Friday.
They hit out at the Cong govt in the state, saying development work has stalled since it came to office.They joined BJP in the presence of Union minister Anurag Thakur, former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, its national general secretary Arun Singh and state unit president Rajeev Bindal.
A four-time MP from the state, Thakur welcomed the MLAs saying their presence will strengthen BJP, as he accused the Congress govt in HP of failing to fulfil its promises, leading to all-round anger among people. Thakur said six of the former lawmakers, despite being Congress MLAs, supported BJP in the recent Rajya Sabha elections as they chose to reflect the “public anger against the Sukhu govt.
The disqualified Congress MLAs are Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma and Devinder Kumar Bhutto. The independent MLAs are Ashish Sharma, Hoshiyar Singh and KL Thakur. They are expected to contest the bypolls from their respective seats as candidates of the saffron party.
Meanwhile, in a social media post, Sukhu wrote the people indulging in politics of “aayaram-gayaram and money power have deceived the mandate of Devbhoomi (Himachal) and selected their destination”.
Launching a veiled attack on BJP, Sukhu said they (rebel MLAs) were sitting with those who made fun of employees for seeking the old pension scheme, who orchestrated the paper leak scam and withheld results, and who stood against women for their own benefit.
BJP leaders present on the occasion said the former lawmakers will be given due respect in the party.
The former Congress leaders slammed the party, saying its national leadership is no longer visible and offers no vision for the country, leading to its “disintegration”.
Though Sukhu has been putting up a brave face and there appears to be no immediate threat to his govt, BJP is looking to bring down his dispensation with bypoll wins amid a view that it may draw more legislators into its fold.
With the disqualification of the six MLAs, Congress’s strength has come down from 39 to 33 in the now 62-member assembly; its original strength was 68. BJP has 25 members. The Speaker, who can vote only in the case of a tie during a floor test, is affiliated to Congress.
They hit out at the Cong govt in the state, saying development work has stalled since it came to office.They joined BJP in the presence of Union minister Anurag Thakur, former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, its national general secretary Arun Singh and state unit president Rajeev Bindal.
A four-time MP from the state, Thakur welcomed the MLAs saying their presence will strengthen BJP, as he accused the Congress govt in HP of failing to fulfil its promises, leading to all-round anger among people. Thakur said six of the former lawmakers, despite being Congress MLAs, supported BJP in the recent Rajya Sabha elections as they chose to reflect the “public anger against the Sukhu govt.
The disqualified Congress MLAs are Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma and Devinder Kumar Bhutto. The independent MLAs are Ashish Sharma, Hoshiyar Singh and KL Thakur. They are expected to contest the bypolls from their respective seats as candidates of the saffron party.
Meanwhile, in a social media post, Sukhu wrote the people indulging in politics of “aayaram-gayaram and money power have deceived the mandate of Devbhoomi (Himachal) and selected their destination”.
Launching a veiled attack on BJP, Sukhu said they (rebel MLAs) were sitting with those who made fun of employees for seeking the old pension scheme, who orchestrated the paper leak scam and withheld results, and who stood against women for their own benefit.
BJP leaders present on the occasion said the former lawmakers will be given due respect in the party.
The former Congress leaders slammed the party, saying its national leadership is no longer visible and offers no vision for the country, leading to its “disintegration”.
Though Sukhu has been putting up a brave face and there appears to be no immediate threat to his govt, BJP is looking to bring down his dispensation with bypoll wins amid a view that it may draw more legislators into its fold.
With the disqualification of the six MLAs, Congress’s strength has come down from 39 to 33 in the now 62-member assembly; its original strength was 68. BJP has 25 members. The Speaker, who can vote only in the case of a tie during a floor test, is affiliated to Congress.
