The Speaker of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, Kuldeep Singh Pathania, suspended 15 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs on Wednesday, including prominent figures such as Jai Ram Thakur and Vipin Parmar, accusing them of causing disruptions in his chamber. The suspension followed a proposal from State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan, recommending the expulsion of these MLAs from the house.
The suspension led to chaos and protests in the well of the House, resulting in the adjournment of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly until 12 pm. The BJP, however, claims that this move by the Congress is an attempt to prevent its government from collapsing ahead of the Budget session.
Harsh Mahajan, the BJP’s winning candidate for the Rajya Sabha, expressed, “Congress Government is toppling. So such attempts are being made – to suspend them. These are delay tactics and are followed in every Vidhan Sabha…Congress has dismantled from here. All the attempts they make now will fail. BJP will form the Government here…Nine MLAs are in my support.”
Adding to the challenges for the Congress government, Himachal Pradesh Minister Vikramaditya Singh, son of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, resigned from his position on Wednesday. Singh stated, “Under the current circumstances, it is not correct for me to continue as a part of the government. So, I have decided that I am resigning from the Council of Ministers.”
The political turmoil in the state occurs during the annual Budget session of the Assembly and ahead of the crucial voting on the state Finance Bill.
The BJP is pushing for a division vote on the passage of the Budget, and if the Congress fails to secure its approval, the government in the state is at risk of collapsing. In the 68-member state assembly, the Congress holds 40 seats, the BJP has 25, and the remaining three seats are held by independents.