Himachal chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday said the Congress is contesting elections to save democracy in the state, stressing that the defection by its six MLAs will be a major issue in the polls.
Six Congress rebels, who were later disqualified and are now contesting on BJP ticket in the assembly bypolls, and three independents had voted in favour of the BJP nominee Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha elections held on February 27.
''Elections are being held, it is a festival of democracy and in Himachal Pradesh, we are contesting elections to save democracy. We are appealing to the general public why the leaders they elected for five years voted in favour of the BJP candidate in Rajya Sabha polls in 14 months and then got disqualified,'' Suku said while campaigning in Kangra district.
The six Congress MLAs -- Rajinder Rana (Sujanpur), Sudhir Sharma (Dharamshala), Ravi Thakur (Lahaul and Spiti), Inder Dutt Lakhanpal (Barsar), Chetanya Sharma (Gagret) and Devinder Kumar Bhutto (Kutlehar) -- were disqualified for defying a party whip to be present in Vidhan Sabha and vote in favour of the government during the passage of budget.
''It seems that in democracy when leaders are not elected by vote of the people, they want to snatch the chair by note (use of money) and it will be an issue in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and assembly by-elections,'' he added.
''We would tell the people to give a befitting reply to the BJP for stealing one Rajya Sabha seat by strengthening the democracy through their vote for the Congress in all the four Lok Sabha seats,'' the CM said.
He said that the names of candidates from Hamirpur and Kangra parliament seats and six assembly constituencies where bypolls are being held would be announced soon.
The Congress has so far named Vikramaditya Singh (public works minister who is also the sitting MLA from Shimla (Rural) assembly seat) from Mandi parliament seat and sitting MLA from Kasauli Vinod Sultanpuri from Shimla Lok Sabha seat.
Congress to win all four Lok Sabha seats hit 'sixer' in assembly bypolls: Himachal minister
The Congress will not only win all four Lok Sabha seats in Himachal Pradesh but also hit a "sixer" in the six assembly seats where bypolls are being held, Education Minister Rohit Thakur said on Monday.
Thakur is the Congress' in-charge for the Shimla Lok Sabha seat.
The assembly seats fell vacant after six Congress MLAs who abstained from voting on the cut motion and finance bill (Budget) in the assembly were disqualified for defying a party whip to be present in the House and vote in favour of the government.
Thakur alleged the BJP's Shimla candidate and incumbent MP Suresh Kashyap failed to ensure development for 400 of the 900 panchayats. The late Krishan Dutt Sultanpuri won from Shimla six consecutive times on a Congress ticket and his son, Vinod Sultanpuri, the party's candidate this time, is visiting every corner of the constituency, he said. Kashyap's tenure as the BJP's state unit chief was also disappointing and the saffron party lost the Mandi Lok Sabha seat and three assembly bypolls in 2021, the Himachal Pradesh minister said.
BJP targets Sukhu govt over attack on college student in Palampur
The Himachal Pradesh BJP Monday targeted the ruling Congress over an attack on a college student in Palampur two days back and alleged that the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led dispensation wants to create a riot-like situation ahead of the election. The 21-year-old woman was attacked with a sharp-edged weapon by a man near the Palampur bus stand in Kangra district on Saturday. The man has since been arrested and booked under IPC sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) among others, according to Superintendent of Police Shalini Agnihotri.
In a statement, Himachal BJP president Rajiv Bindal alleged that the Chief Minister Sukhu-led government wants to create a riot-like situation. He claimed that Sukhu's statements at a public meeting about beating up and threatening an elected MLA gave free rein to goons in the state and as a result, the college student was brutally attacked. Bindal was referring to Sukhu's "Bhutto ko Kootto (beat Bhutto)" remark while addressing a gathering in Kutlehar on April 6. Devinder Kumar Bhutto, a former Congress MLA, is the BJP's candidate for the Kutlehar assembly bypoll.
Meanwhile, the chief minister met with the family members of the student in Palampur on Monday and assured of strict action in the case. Investigations are underway and reasons leading to such an incident will also be probed, Sukhu said.
