Himachal Pradesh’s Leader of the Opposition, Jairam Thakur, asserted on Wednesday that the state government has forfeited its ‘ethical legitimacy to remain in authority’ amidst a significant turn of events in the state. This follows a dramatic episode the previous day, where the BJP caused an upset by defeating Congress’s Abhishek Manu Singhvi in the Rajya Sabha elections, owing to the cross-voting by six of its MLAs.
“In light of recent political events in Himachal Pradesh, it can be stated that the state government no longer possesses the ethical authority to continue in power,” remarked the BJP leader.
Thakur, who visited Raj Bhawan to meet Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, briefed him on the recent incidents within the Assembly. “We have briefed the Governor about the recent incidents in the Assembly…We have apprised him of the Speaker’s conduct towards the Opposition MLAs. During a session where we demanded a division of votes on the financial bill, it was denied, leading to the House being adjourned twice. Subsequently, the treatment meted out to our MLAs by the Marshals was unacceptable. MLAs were subjected to physical harm, a situation unprecedented in the history of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly,” Thakur stated.
When asked about the extent of Congress legislators in contact with the BJP, Thakur refrained from disclosing specifics but emphasized, “I cannot disclose this information at present, but I can assert that the Congress has lost its mandate.”
In an astonishing political development in Himachal Pradesh, the ruling Congress’s Abhishek Manu Singhvi lost the Rajya Sabha election to the BJP’s Harsh Mahajan despite the Congress holding a comfortable majority in the state assembly. Both candidates secured 34 votes each in the 68-member state assembly, with Mahajan clinching victory after a tie-breaker draw of lots.
The triumph assumes greater significance in light of former BJP Himachal CM Jai Ram Thakur’s assertion that the Sukhu government has dwindled into a minority in the house. However, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi conceded defeat and expressed gratitude towards the MLAs who cross-voted, enabling Harsh Mahajan’s victory.
“I would also like to express gratitude to the nine individuals (MLAs) because they have provided valuable insights into human nature, its fickleness, or steadfastness. They were among us…So, I believe we are not the best judges of human character; evidently, they are,” Singhvi remarked.
Earlier on Tuesday, CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu alleged that opposition leaders were impeding the work of counting officials and that “5-6 Congress MLAs were taken away in a convoy of the CRPF and Haryana Police.”