A worried Congress hurried on Wednesday to save its Government in Himachal Pradesh amid dramatic developments, including a resignation announcement by high-profile Minister Vikramaditya Singh and the suspension of 15 BJP MLAs by the Speaker.
The party engaged in a damage control exercise to prevent the possible loss of a State ruled by the party just weeks ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge despatched three observers — Bhupesh Baghel, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and D K Shivakumar — to Shimla, indicating that the party could take some “tough steps”. The crisis was triggered by Tuesday’s cross-voting by six Congress MLAs in the Rajya Sabha election for the lone seat from Himachal Pradesh. The party has now sought the disqualification of these MLAs from the Assembly, and the matter was heard by Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania who reserved his order.
The suspended BJP MLAs, including the Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, initially refused to leave the House, apparently to stall the Assembly from passing Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s Budget through voice vote. The BJP demanded voting on the Budget, believing it would reveal that the Congress had lost its majority in the State Assembly.
The House later passed the Finance Bill by voice vote with no BJP member present. The Speaker then adjourned the Session sine die. Chief Minister Sukhu dismissed speculation that he was resigning, stating, “Neither the high command, nor anyone else has asked me for resignation,” Sukhu said.
Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi was defeated by BJP’s Harsh Mahajan on Tuesday through a draw of lots, after the two candidates bagged 34 votes each.
The result meant that the Congress, which had come into power in the State just 14 months ago, winning 40 seats in the Assembly, had failed to reach the halfway mark.
The BJP won 25 seats in the House of 68 in 2022. There are three Independent MLAs, who were believed to be with the ruling Congress until the cross-voting crisis erupted.
Early morning, Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur led a delegation to Raj Bhavan to meet Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla to ensure that the Finance Bill was passed only through a division.
Late in the evening, the Congress observers began their interaction with party MLAs. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said Kharge had asked the observers and AICC in-charge for the State Rajeev Shukla to speak to all MLAs, including those who are disgruntled, and submit a comprehensive report to him soon.
“The Congress will not hesitate to take tough steps as the party is our priority and will not let the people’s mandate be betrayed in Himachal Pradesh,” Ramesh said at the AICC Press conference in the national Capital.
Earlier in the morning, Himachal Pradesh Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh announced he was quitting the council of ministers and would submit his resignation to the chief minister and the Governor. It was not immediately clear whether he had done so.
Singh, whose mother is Himachal Congress president Pratibha Singh, said, “There have been attempts to humiliate and undermine me from some quarters, and despite reservations, I supported the Government.” He is the son of Virbhadra Singh, a former Chief Minister who died in 2021.
The family has in the past hinted that Virbhadra Singh’s legacy has not been honored by the party. Pratibha Singh has also expressed disgruntlement with the manner in which Sukhu has run the State. Vikramaditya Singh said the 2022 Congress campaign was run in his father’s name. “There was no poster, or hoarding or banner which did not carry his picture,” he said. But after the victory, when the matter of putting up his statue came up, the Government failed to decide the location. “It is not a political but an emotional thing for a son,” he said.
“The Congress party had made promises to the people, and we owe the responsibility to fulfill those promises, and I would decide my future course of action after consulting my supporters,” he added.
In the Assembly, chaos ensued when the House met in the morning.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan moved a motion seeking the suspension of BJP MLAs for allegedly disrespecting the Speaker. The motion was adopted by voice vote, and the Speaker axed 15 MLAs.
The BJP members, however, refused to leave. The Speaker then adjourned the House till 12 pm.
Meanwhile, a group of six Congress and three Independent MLAs, who had spent Tuesday night at a guesthouse in Panchkula in BJP-run Haryana after voting against the Congress candidate, were back in the House. They were flown back in a helicopter.
As these MLAs entered the House, BJP members greeted them by thumping their desks. They also raised the slogan, “Jai Shri Ram, Ban Gaya Kaam”.
On Tuesday, Sukhu had claimed that the MLAs had been “abducted” by the Haryana Police and the CRPF.
