'Can't say what will happen in future', says Himachal Congress chief on BJP switch buzz
Vikramaditya says not taking back resignation
High-profile minister Vikramaditya Singh, son of Himachal Congress president Pratibha Singh, said he has not taken back his resignation and will not act in this regard unless the Congress observers share their final decision.
“We spoke to the observer and discussed the current situation. They are looking into the matter and will take the final decision after talking to the MLAs. This situation did not happen because of me. It happened because of those legislators,” he said, as quoted by media reports.
Pratibha Singh said: “Ever since the government was formed, nothing is going well. We have brought all this to the attention of the high command, we wanted everyone to sit and find a solution. But even after a year, no decision was taken and then this situation arose. Talking to the observer is our internal matter.”
Slim majority for Congress
With the latest disqualifications, the effective strength of the state assembly now stands at 62 and the majority mark is 32. The Congress, as per the Rajya Sabha poll vote count, currently has 34 MLAs and remains in a slim majority.
Why the suspensions
The Congress MLAs have been disqualified for defying the party whip and not being present in the Assembly to vote in favour of the government on the Finance Bill and other cut motions that were brought during the session that concluded yesterday.
Speaker reserves order on MLAs' disqualification
Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania has reserved his order on a Congress petition seeking the disqualification of six party MLAs who cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha election.
The six MLAs also face the possibility of disqualification on another count.
Speaking in the assembly, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan said a whip was issued to the party MLAs to be present in the House during voting on the state Budget on Wednesday. But these MLAs defied it by staying away, he added.
The minister asked the Speaker to take note of it. The Speaker said the matter is in his knowledge and he will take cognisance of it.
The MLAs had cross-voted for BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan during the Rajya Sabha elections on Tuesday, leading to the defeat of their party candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
The Congress has accused the six MLAs of defying the earlier whip on the Rajya Sabha polls.
Senior advocate Satya Pal Jain, who represented the six MLAs before the Speaker on Wednesday, has asserted that a party whip does not apply in the case of Rajya Sabha polls.
Jain also argued that according to rules, seven days’ time has to be given to MLAs for filing their reply.