Himachal Pradesh political crisis LIVE: BJP seeks no-trust vote

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday slammed the BJP, saying it wants to "crush Himachal people's right to choose their government by misusing money power, central agencies”.

On notice to 6 Congress MLAs who voted for the BJP candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections yesterday, Himachal Pradesh LoP Jairam Thakur says, "...as we said yesterday, they will suspend BJP MLAs to pass the budget. Now they are moving towards taking action against the MLAs who supported the BJP candidate. We will fight the battle."

Himachal Pradesh Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harsh Vardhan Chauhan says, "The Congress government proved its majority today and passed the budget. Six rebel MLAs were also found absent today during the passing of the budget. I told the Speaker about this. We filed a petition yesterday to disqualify them and a hearing was held today...the Speaker will now take a decision on this..."

Advocate Satya Pal Jain reported that a hearing on disqualification petitions for the six Congress MLAs who voted for the BJP candidate in the recent Rajya Sabha elections yesterday (Feb 27). Jain mentioned, "Today, we were served notices by the Speaker regarding the petitions. However, we have not yet received the copies of the petition or its annexures. During the hearing, we requested the Speaker to furnish us with the necessary documents and allow time for us to prepare our response. Despite our plea, the Speaker did not provide any comments, and after hearing arguments from both sides, he announced that the order has been reserved. It is noteworthy that we received a copy of the petition at 6:02 pm post the case hearing, which, according to Jain, raises concerns about the violation of the principles of natural justice and Supreme Court judgments. In the proceedings, I emphasized to the Speaker that he is now functioning akin to a judge or judicial tribunal and urged him to grant us a reasonable timeframe, be it 2 days, 3 days, or 4 days, to file our response."

Speaking about the who MLAs cross-voted in the recently concluded Rajya Sabha elections, Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu said, "I am sad over the fact they (rebel MLAs) might be upset with me over a leading advocate like Abhishek Manu Singhvi, but not voting for candidates who should have been sent to Rajya Sabha from Himachal is betrayal with the party." 

When asked if he would forgive those who cross-voted, the Himachal Pradesh CM said, "Hum toh sab ko maaf karne wale log hai, hum badle ki bhavna se kaam karne wale log nahi hain (We are the kind of people who forgive everyone, we are not those who seek revenge)." 

Amid the ongoing political crisis in the Indian state, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said he will run the state government for five years.

“Neither the high command has asked me nor anyone else for resignation and there is no such thing,” Sukhu told PTI videos. 

He added, “The kind of work done by the state BJP leaders. They did not trust their own people. The CRPF was deployed. Haryana police were deployed. A helicopter was used.”

“But I want to say one thing: the people of Himachal Pradesh are with us and MLAs are with us and I can definitely say that we will run the Himachal government for five years,” said Sukhu.

Six Congress MLAs who cross-voted in Rajya Sabha elections have returned to Haryana.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has claimed that one of Congress MLAs who cross-voted during Rajya Sabha elections has asked for forgiveness.

"One of the MLAs (who voted for BJP candidate in RS polls) has said to forgive him as he has betrayed the party...People of the state will give them an answer..." he said.

"I have spoken with Vikramaditya Singh and he is my younger brother. There is no reason to accept his resignation. He has some grievances that will be solved," he added on the issue of Vikramaditya Singh's resignation.

Fifteen BJP MLAs have been suspended from the Himachal Pradesh assembly. 

Total number of MLAs: 66

Number of Congress MLAs: 40

Number of BJP MLAs: 25

Number of independent MLAs: 3

However, rebellion by six Congress MLAs has created a situation for the party now. Suspension of 15 BJP MLAs has brought strength of the house to 53.

"There are reports in some media houses that the CM has resigned. I want to clarify that I haven't resigned. I am a warrior. We will prove our majority during the Budget Session. I also want to make it clear that the Congress government will complete its full 5-year term," Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has said.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar decried BJP and called its tactics "worrisome" for democracy.

"As per the directions of the Congress high command, I am reaching #HimachalPradesh. Also, there is absolutely no need to indulge in any hearsay, as I am confident that Congress Party legislators will be loyal to the party and stay put with the mandate that has been accorded to them."

"However, what should be questioned and worrisome is the extremes to which BJP is going in terms of acquiring power, deliberately attempting to crush democracy and public mandate in the process," he said in a post on X.

The Congress top brass, as per reports, has rushed former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and DK Shivakumar to Shimla to parley with members of the party which is facing loss of support and risks losing power in the state.

Sources said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has spoken to former party chief Rahul Gandhi as also general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on the Himachal developments.

"There are reports in some media houses that the CM has resigned. I want to clarify that I haven't resigned. I am a warrior. We will prove our majority during the Budget Session. I also want to make it clear that the Congress government will complete its full 5-year term."

As per sources, the Himachal Pradesh Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting as per sources will likely happen after 2 PM. At the meeting, issues including the party's leadership and chief minister are expected to be discussed.

Amid a fresh scramble for power in the state, Himachal Pradesh Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh, who announced his resignation from the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu cabinet today, claimed that he was humiliated by the party.

"There have been attempts to humiliate and undermine me from some quarters and in spite of reservations, I supported the government," he said.

Himachal Pradesh political crisis LIVE | Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu offered to resign, a day after cross-voting by six Congress MLAs in Rajya Sabha elections, media reports said. 

Indian Union Minister Anurag Thakur said, " No matter how much injustice they (Congress) do, it is of no use. One thing is clear, the people of Himachal were not ready to accept an outsider as the Rajya Sabha candidate of Congress, even their own MLAs were not ready to accept this. They used the moment to show their anger... What the speaker did was inappropriate...if they don't have numbers, they themselves gave the first example of it."
 

Himachal Pradesh Political Crisis LIVE: BJP's winning Rajya Sabha candidate Harsh Mahajan reportedly said, "Everyone is slipping away (from Congress) gradually. This Government won't continue. Congress governments will meet this fate."

Vikramaditya Singh said, "I have never said anything about the functioning of the government, but it is my responsibility to say it clearly today...I have always said that position and cabinet berth is not important for me. For me, the most important thing is the relationship with the people of Himachal Pradesh...But the kind of system prevailing in the government in last one year, how MLAs were overlooked and attempts were made to stifle their voices - this is a result of that."