6 rebel Congress MLAs disqualified by Himachal Pradesh speaker
Congress MLAs who cross-voted for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the recently held Rajya Sabha elections in Himachal Pradesh have been disqualified under the anti-defection law on Thursday.
«Six MLAs, who contested on Congress symbol, attracted provisions of anti-defection law against themselves...I declare that the six people cease to be members of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly with immediate effect,» said Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania.
Petition for action was filed by Congress MLA and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harsh Wardhan Chauhan under the anti-defection law for disqualification of the six MLAs.
Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday called all Congress MLAs for a 'breakfast meeting' in Shimla.
The state's Congress government is in turmoil as six legislators have defected, reportedly in contact with the BJP. The Congress currently commands 40 seats in the 68-member assembly, while the BJP holds 25. Independents occupy the remaining three seats.
The Congress had managed to pass the state budget after the speaker suspended 15 BJP MLAs for allegedly creating a ruckus in his chamber, a move that came under severe criticism from the BJP.
«The BJP has 25 MLAs. The number increased to 34 after the Rajya Sabha voting. This created a danger for the government… They had to pass the budget somehow otherwise the government would fall. For this, they had to decrease the no. of BJP MLAs. 15 MLAs including me have been suspended… We were suspended to save the Congress
