Himachal: 3 Independent MLAs’ resignations accepted

Himachal Pradesh assembly speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania on Monday accepted the resignations of three Independent MLAs, who along with six rebel Congress legislators, voted for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate in the Rajya Sabha polls held in February.

The three MLAs — Hoshiyar Singh, Ashish Sharma, and KL Thakur — resigned from the assembly on March 22 but the speaker did not accept their resignations after the Congress filed an application, saying that they took the decision under “duress” and not voluntarily.

The MLAs moved the high court on April 12, seeking directions to the speaker to accept their resignations. On May 8, the court delivered a split verdict on their plea and referred the matter to a three-judge bench, which is yet to take it up. “Their resignations have been accepted and these three MLAs cease to be members of the 14th Vidhan Sabha with immediate effect,” Pathania said.

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On February 27, six former Congress MLAs — Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma and Devinder Kumar — and the three Independents voted in favour of BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha polls, leading to a tie and his eventual victory by a dramatic lottery.

Pathania disqualified the Congress MLAs on February 29 for defying the party whip during the vote on a finance bill. Their disqualification brought the effective strength of the assembly down to 62 and the majority mark to 32 — below the Congress’s effective strength of 34. The BJP has 25 MLAs in the state. The disqualification of the Independent MLAs, who joined the BJP along with the Congress rebels on March 26, has brought down the effective strength of the assembly to 59.

The BJP fielded the six Congress rebels for the assembly bypolls that were held on June 1 along with the elections to the state’s four Lok Sabha seats. If the BJP wins all six seats, its strength will rise to 31.

Bypolls to the seats held by the three Independent MLAs are yet to be announced. If the BJP wins these three seats, its numbers will reach 34, the same as the Congress, in the 68-member assembly.

“The three had approached the speaker and the Vidhan Sabha secretary, which reflected their voluntariness. We held a brief inquiry into the petition filed by (Congress leader) Jagat Singh Negi (seeking their disqualification). The net result is that they cease to be a member. Either I accept the resignation or disqualify them. This is a less harsh order,” Pathania said while briefing the media.

The disqualified Independent MLAs welcomed the speaker’s decision. “It would have been better had the speaker accepted the resignations earlier and paved the way for simultaneous elections (with the Lok Sabha polls) in these three assembly seats also,” KL Thakur said.

Naresh Chauhan, state Congress vice president and principal media advisor to chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the speaker has performed his “constitutional duty”. “The three Independents could never explain what compelled them to resign,” he said.

Former chief minister and leader of opposition Jai Ram Thakur asked why the speaker did not accept the resignations earlier. “The entire issue was needlessly delayed, preventing the three Independent MLAs from participating in the general elections and assembly by-elections. It is highly unfortunate to intentionally prolong a decision in this manner,” he said.