Unaware of the Central Government having pressed for registering of a money laundering case against Virbhadra Singh in a Delhi court on Wednesday, Opposition BJP was off to a stormy start in Shimla, demanding the resignation of the Chief Minister for having lost the mandate in the recent parliamentary polls.
Adopting an aggressive position on the very first day of the 24-day long monsoon session, the Opposition staged a walkout after Speaker BBl Butail restrained them from raising the resignation demand.
When slogan-shouting and other attempts to disrupt the House proceedings failed, the Opposition staged a walkout. The speaker did not allow the issue to be raised saying that no notice had been given.
The question hour was not taken up as the time allotted was consumed in making obituary references to 6 members who died in the intervening period from the last session.
As the house prepared to take up the business listed for the day, senior BJP leader Suresh Bhardwaj intervened and asked Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to resign on moral grounds for the Congress party under his stewardship had lost the mandate in the lok Sabha elections.
“The Chief Minister’s wife lost the election on her lok Sabha seat (Mandi) and even from Assembly seat (Shimla rural) that has elected the Chief Minister, the BJP candidate led,” said Bhardwaj.
In fact, of the 68 Assembly segments in Himachal, BJP candidates had clear leads in 59 of them, he added. Upset by the walkout, Health Minister Kaul Singh said in a House devoid of the Opposition members, “the State Government has a clear mandate given to us by the people in the 2012 Assembly elections.”
Making the point that lok Sabha polls are contested on national issues and are different from State Assembly elections, he said, “the walkout was uncalled for and the Opposition was making unnecessary hue and cry.”