Disqualified Himachal Pradesh Congress MLA slams CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu

Shimla: Disqualified Himachal Pradesh MLA Rajinder Rana, one of the six Congress rebels who scripted the party’s embarrassing loss in recently held Rajya Sabha elections, attributed their betrayal to Abhishek Manu Singhvi’s candidature. Questioning the Congress leadership’s attempt to send the star lawyer to the Upper House of Parliament from the hill state, he said the rebels cross-voted to uphold the honour of Himachal Pradesh. Revealing their next move, he said they will approach court against their disqualification. He also attacked chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
“We took this decision to uphold the honour and respect of Himachal Pradesh and for the people. Himachal Pradesh is a ‘Devbhoomi’. Did the Congress Party not have any candidate, out of those workers who helped build the party (in Himachal), who can represent Himachal Pradesh in Rajya Sabha?” said Rana.
“We will go to the court soon. This disqualification by the Speaker was done completely under pressure. The law was not taken into account… The police have started issuing challans against the supporters of those MLAs who have cross-voted… We will protect the self-respect of this state,” he added.
“It is not Congress’ government in Himachal Pradesh, it is only the government of Sukhvinder Sukhu’s friends… Everyone is aware of the state’s situation. The youth are on the roads after writing exams. They are still waiting for the results. The guarantees given to the people are not being fulfilled and selected MLAs are being treated disrespectfully,” Rana said.
The Congress was poised to score an easy victory in the Himachal Rajya Sabha polls as it had the support of 40 MLAs. However, 6 MLAs cross-voted in favour of the BJP.
Also read: Himachal Congress chief Pratibha Singh lauds BJP
Their cross-voting also imperiled the government as the BJP claimed Sukhu had lost the confidence of the MLAs. However, the speaker’s decision to suspend 15 BJP MLAs and disqualify the six rebels, gave the Congress government an opportunity to regroup.
The party soon sent its trouble-shooter DK Shivakumar to iron out the differences. However, hours after Shivakumar’s “all is well” message, Vikramaditya Singh’s meeting with the MLAs indicated that the infighting isn’t over.
On Friday, Himachal Congress chief Pratibha Singh, Vikramaditya Singh’s mother, praised the BJP, saying its work is better than the grand old party.
Reacting to her ‘take everyone along’ comment, Sukhu said “What will be bigger than a person having the support of 80% MLAs? I don’t know why she raised this question.”
Sukhu claimed the rebellion of MLAs was triggered by the BJP.
“BJP indulged in horse-trading and got cross-voting done during Rajya Sabha elections…It is the Opposition’s job to level allegations and that is what they will do,” he added.
With inputs from PTI, ANI