New Delhi: A day after it failed to secure a Rajya Sabha seat for party leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh was faced with yet another hurdle Wednesday: passing the state’s annual budget without the support of six of its MLAs.
While the budget was passed and the state assembly adjourned sine die, giving the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led government some more time to get its house in order, state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders hinted to ThePrint that the stability of the Congress government is ‘temporary’ and the political crisis in Himachal Pradesh is ‘not over’ just yet.
The day started with the state Congress leadership knee-deep in firefighting on the floor of the House. This was followed by Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania expelling 15 BJP MLAs. Once the marshals escorted the Opposition legislators out at the direction of the Speaker, the assembly passed the annual budget and the House was adjourned.
Constitutional expert and former general secretary of the Lok Sabha P.D.T Achary said the “government crossed the first hurdle (passing the budget) and has time to address internal conflict, although the governor can ask for a floor test if he is convinced that the government has lost its majority”.
BJP’s Harsh Mahajan, who defeated Congress leader and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi to clinch the sole Rajya Sabha seat on offer in the state, claimed that the BJP “will form a government in the state”.
The Congress, he said, is only trying to “delay the inevitable”.
Former chief minister Jairam Thakur, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the state legislative assembly, added that the Sukhu-led Congress government “has no majority” in the House and “passed the budget by suspending MLAs”. Thakur went on to say that the people of Himachal Pradesh “want to see a BJP government” in the state.
“The crisis is not over yet since Virbhadra Singh’s Vikramaditya is leading the rebellion against the government,” a senior state BJP leader told ThePrint on condition of anonymity.
Vikramaditya, who resigned from Sukhu’s council of ministers earlier in the day, told the media Wednesday evening that he has decided ‘not to press for his resignation’ as long as the dialogue of central observers of the Congress party sent to the state is not complete.
Speaking to the media after meeting central observers, Sukhu said his “government is safe”, and that the Congress MLAs who cross-voted “should have shown more respect for the party”. The Chief Minister also said that he ‘believes in forgiveness, not revenge’.
The state BJP leader quoted earlier claimed that Vikramaditya, MLA from Shimla (Rural), “has a few MLAs with him and it is only a matter of time before the family of a former CM (Virbhadra Singh) leads this battle to its logical conclusion — upstaging the Congress government in the state, as (Eknath) Shinde did with the Shiv Sena (in Maharashtra)”.
According to the BJP leader, the developments of the last 48 hours could be a shot in the arm for the party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. “We gained not only by exposing the resentment brewing within the Congress and defeating the ruling party in the Rajya Sabha polls despite its majority in the House but also secured a moral victory,” the leader told ThePrint.
“The game is far from over. This will give us (BJP) an edge in the Lok Sabha polls, particularly in the Shimla belt which is where the BJP is weak. The party will campaign accordingly and expose the Congress’ fault lines.”
Also Read: Disgruntled MLAs & a reticent CM — storm in Himachal Congress has been brewing for a long time
‘Himachal Congress trying to pressure own MLAs’: BJP
While the BJP successfully managed to get its candidate Harsh Mahajan elected to the Rajya Sabha, its strategy to defeat the government on the floor of the House did not succeed.
On Wednesday, the six Congress MLAs who cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha polls met Jairam Thakur before appearing in front of the Speaker to respond to a show-cause notice asking them why they should not be disqualified under the anti-defection law for defying the party whip.
They were represented by Additional Solicitor General and BJP leader Satya Pal Jain.
Speaking to ThePrint, Jain said, “I appeared on their behalf and we have said that we received notice but not a copy of the petition so a copy of the petition should be given to us and we will present our case. A minimum of seven days should be given (to present a case).”
If the Congress MLAs who cross-voted in favour of the BJP candidate are disqualified, the total strength of the House will drop to 62 from the earlier 68 — which would in effect bring the majority mark down to 31. In this case, the Congress with its 34 MLAs will be able to retain power since the BJP, even with the support of 3 Independents, will have only 28 MLAs.
“It (call for disqualification of 6 MLAs) could be Congress’ pressure tactic to ensure their return to the party fold,” said a second state BJP leader who did not wish to be named.
State BJP president Rajeev Bindal, meanwhile, told ThePrint that the party submitted a request in writing seeking a division of votes on the floor of the House before the passing of the budget but the request was denied.
“It is a murder of democracy. The party is consulting on this issue. Also, they are holding a hearing over the call for disqualification of the six MLAs. They (6 Congress MLAs) did not defy the whip. The Congress is only trying to pressure its own MLAs who cross-voted. They don’t have the numbers (to prove their majority on the floor of the House,” said Bindal.
A third state BJP leader who spoke to ThePrint on condition of anonymity added: “We missed an opportunity to dislodge the Congress government. Our priority was to get our candidate elected to the Rajya Sabha, we achieved that. Rebel Congress MLAs were called to vote against the government but the Speaker saved it by suspending BJP MLAs.”
Asked to comment, a central BJP leader said getting a candidate elected to the Rajya Sabha from Himachal Pradesh would not have been possible were it not for “infighting” in the Congress.
“BJP’s strategy was similar to what it did in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka with the resignation of MLAs (of ruling party), but a small state like Himachal is a different ball game. Winnability in a small state is a risky proposition. Don’t forget that Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and his party colleague B.C. Khanduri in Uttarakhand and Prem Kumar Dhumal in Himachal lost elections while being chief ministerial candidates.”
The leader added that one can also not discount Vikramaditya Singh who “has a sizable number of MLAs, which can allow him to escape disqualification under the anti-defection law, as was the case with Ajit Pawar (of the NCP) and Eknath Shinde (of the Shiv Sena) in Maharashtra.”
Meanwhile, Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Virbhadra Singh told news agency ANI Wednesday, “You all know that after the formation of the government, a few things were not going well. More than a year has passed since we informed the party high command about this but no decision has been taken…”
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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