- विज्ञापन -
Shimla: After the ruling Congress in Himachal Pradesh faced a humiliating defeat owing to cross-voting by six of its legislators for the lone Rajya Sabha seat, BJP leader and Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur met Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla on Wednesday morning to demand floor test in the ongoing Budget session against the government.
The leader of opposition, Jai ram Thakur after meeting the governor, Shiv Pratap Shukla posted on X. he said, “The behavior of the Honorable Assembly Speaker during the budget session of the Assembly was not in accordance with the dignity of his post. The opposition’s views were not heard inside the assembly. Our demand for division of votes was rejected and the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly were adjourned. This is a violation of our democratic rights.”
As per the schedule of the Legislative Assembly, the Budget for 2024-25 is slated to be passed on Wednesday and during the session the BJP will demand voting, rather than voice vote on the floor of the House, as the Congress government is in “minority”.
After nine legislators, comprising six Congress and three Independents, the BJP strength in the House rose to 34, from 25.
The ruling strength of legislators has reduced from 40 to 34, the half-way mark in the 68-member House.
Congress loses sole Rajya Sabha seat of Himachal Pradesh
In the voting for the Rajya Sabha seat, both the Congress candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi and BJP’s Harsh Mahajan had both received 34 votes each, however Mahajan won by draw of lots.
In a stunning upset, the six Congress MLAs who cross-voted were Sudhir Sharma (Dharamsala) and Rajinder Rana (Sujanpur), both ministerial aspirants; Inder Dutt Lakhanpal (Badsar); Ravi Thakur (Lahaul-Spiti); Chaitnaya Sharma (Gagret); and Devender Bhutto (Kutlehar). The three Independent MLAs too voted in favour of the BJP.
The Congress on late Tuesday rushed its senior leaders Bhupinder Singh Hooda and D.K. Shivakumar to Shimla to resolve the crisis triggered by cross-voting.
