6 Disqualified Rebel Himachal Congress MLAs To Move High Court

New Delhi: The six disqualified Congress MLAs of Himachal Pradesh have decided to approach the High Court to challenge the decision of Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania on Thursday.

The six rebel Congress MLAs – Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma, and Devinder Kumar Bhutto – defied the party whip during the recent Rajya Sabha polls and abstained from voting on the finance bill in the assembly.

The ruling Congress party sought their disqualification on the grounds of violating the party’s directive, which was accepted by the Speaker.

Because of the disqualification of these MLAs, there are vacancies in assembly constituencies Dharamshala, Lahaul and Spiti, Sujanpur, Barsar, Gagret, and Kutlehar.

These MLAs were disqualified under the anti-defection law. Because of their disqualification, the strength of the Himachal Assembly has come down to 62 from 68. The number of MLAs of the Congress has decreased from 40 to 34. The opposition BJP now has 25 seats.

Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania, in a press conference, said that the disqualified MLAs had defied the party whip and, as a result, ceased to be members of the House immediately.

Senior advocate Satya Pal Jain, representing the disqualified Congress MLAs, argued that the mandatory seven days’ time for replying to the notice was not given, and key documents were not supplied.

In a 30-page order, Pathania underscored the necessity of a swift judgment in such cases to maintain the dignity of democracy and curb the “Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram” phenomenon, referencing historical instances of party-switching by legislators.