Political tension is once again brewing in Himachal Pradesh as 11 MLAs, including six Himachal Pradesh Congress rebels, have been camping at a resort in neighbouring BJP-ruled Uttarakhand.
The six rebel Congress legislators were suspended from the party for cross-voting for BJP nominee Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha polls.
Amid the ongoing crisis within the Congress in the State, a bus carrying the legislators arrived at Rishikesh’s Taj Hotel, where the 11 MLAs, including six rebel Congress MLAs and three independent MLAs, were seen entering the hotel under heavy security.
The legislators reached Dehradun by a chartered plane from Chandigarh on Saturday afternoon.
The development comes two days after Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu visited Delhi after being summoned by the Congress top brass over the growing tensions within the party and the instability of the lone Congress-led Government in North India. sources said Sukhu presented a report on the political situation in the State and also held discussions on the Lok Sabha elections with the top brass.
“I have just come to know through social media that they (the rebel) have been flown by a chartered plane. This is not democracy. You are just hijacking the very principles of good elected governance,” Sukhu said when his comments were sought on the latest development.
The problem started last month when six Congress MLAs and three independents cross-voted for the BJP candidate Mahajan for the lone seat in the Rajya Sabha, which led to the defeat of party’s official nominee Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
The six MLAs - Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma and Devinder Kumar Bhutto - were later disqualified.
Later, acting on a complaint by the Congress, Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania disqualified the six MLAs from the House for defying a party whip to vote on the state Budget.
Himachal Minister Vikramaditya Singh tried to resolve the situation by becoming a mediator between the Congress High Command and the rebels.
A day earlier Sukhu said he can have a dialogue with the six party rebels after he softened his stand towards them. In return, Sukhu blamed the BJP-led Union Government for using official machinery to destabilise his Government in the State.
