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5 Congress MLAs in denial after receiving show-cause notices
The notices have been issued to Naraingarh MLA Shalley Chaudhary, Sadhaura (SC) MLA Renu Bala, Punahana MLA Mohammad Ilyas, Hathin MLA Mohammad Israil and Ratia MLA Jarnail Singh
Days after Congress issued show-cause notices to its five MLAs for allegedly cross-voting in favour of BJP-backed Independent candidate Satish Nandal in the Rajya Sabha polls, all five MLAs have denied their involvement in the said act.
The notices have been issued to Naraingarh MLA Shalley Chaudhary, Sadhaura (SC) MLA Renu Bala, Punahana MLA Mohammad Ilyas, Hathin MLA Mohammad Israil and Ratia MLA Jarnail Singh.
While the Ratia legislator received a notice on March 20, the other four received notices on March 18 from the Disciplinary Action Committee of the Haryana Congress. Member-secretary of the panel, advocate Rohit Jain from Ambala, said the notice was issued on the directions of committee chairman Dharmpal Malik, asking all to appear within a week. Earlier, Congress state in-charge BK Hariprasad had named four MLAs and Jarnail Singh’s name was disclosed later, ending speculations.
Speaking to reporters in Karnal on Thursday, former CM and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Bhupinder Singh Hooda, said that four of their party votes were also “forcefully rejected” and they had met the Haryana governor to submit a memorandum highlighting alleged irregularities during the polls. “All those who cross-voted have been issued notices and we have already sent a report to the high command. The final action against all of them will be decided by the high command,” Hooda said.
Among the MLAs who cross-voted, the Ratia MLA defeated the former BJP MP Sunita Duggal in the 2024 elections by over 20,000 votes. He said that he was upset about being accused of doing so. “I voted for the party candidate after showing the ballot to Hooda. I’ve been a true soldier of Hooda for the last two decades for which I even faced enmity from the then state chiefs Ashok Tanwar and Kumari Selja. All this for Hooda, to retain his name in the region,” he added.
Naraingarh’s Chaudhary is a two-time MLA from the seat, the home turf of chief minister Nayab Singh Saini. She defeated CM’s close aide Pawan Saini in the 2024 elections.
She is the wife of Ram Kishan Gujjar, who had now resigned from the post of the working president of the Haryana Congress. He had unsuccessfully contested against Nayab Saini from the seat, which Gujjar won twice in the 2005 and 2009 elections.
Gujjar has earlier lashed out at the party leadership for being targeted, while Chaudhary vowed to quit politics, if the allegation of cross-voting is proved against her. Both have been close aides of Selja.
Similarly, Bala is also a two-time MLA from the Sadhaura seat in Yamunanagar. Speaking to the media at her residence, the legislator denied the allegations and cornered ex-CM Hooda for taking the whole state’s politics into his hands, without naming him. She is also a Selja aide.
Eldest of the five, Ilyas is a five-term MLA and served as a minister of state twice in the Bhajan Lal and OP Chautala governments. Mohammad Israil is another Muslim MLA from the Congress, accused of cross-voting. Both leaders are from the Hooda camp.
