A significant political crisis has unfolded in Himachal Pradesh after Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania on Wednesday suspended 15 BJP legislators which followed the resignation of one of Congress’s powerful ministers Vikramaditya Singh.
The MLAs expelled by the speaker include the Leader of the Opposition and former state CM Jai Ram Thakur. They were suspended for misbehaviour and shouting slogans in the House.
Himachal Political Crisis LIVE: Vikramaditya Singh Quits as Congress Minister, Jai Ram Thakur Among 15 BJP MLAs Expelled
“We are apprehensive that Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania might suspend the BJP MLAs so that the budget can be passed in the Vidhan Sabha,” Thakur told reporters earlier in the morning. He said the Rajya Sabha election had made it clear that the Congress government was in the minority and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
The move comes a day after the BJP on Tuesday won the state’s lone Rajya Sabha seat with its candidate Harsh Mahajan defeating Congress stalwart Abhishek Manu Singhvi due to cross-voting by MLAs of the state’s ruling Congress party.
Thakur, along with party MLAs, met Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla at Raj Bhavan on Wednesday. They sought a floor test, claiming that Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had lost the mandate to rule.
Meanwhile, Himachal Pradesh Public Works Department Minister Vikramaditya Singh on Wednesday announced he would be resigning from the post.
The announcement from the Congress lawmaker brought cracks in the party, which on Tuesday lost the sole Rajya Sabha seat to the BJP and is scrambling to keep its members together to prevent the fall of its government.
(With PTI inputs)
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