After Supreme Court stayed the disqualification of six chief parliamentary secretaries of Himachal Pradesh appointed by the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government in the state, Congress launching a fresh attack on Bharatiya Janta Party said, “BJP’s attempt to de-stabilise the government has been scuttled”.
Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu led Congress government had been under attack by the BJP after HC had nullified the appointments of six Congress MLAs as CPSes, terming the appointments as “unconstitutional”.
HC in its order had said, “...protection granted to such appointment to the office of chief parliamentary secretary/or parliamentary secretary as per Section 3 with Clause (d) of Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly Members (Removal of Disqualifications) Act, 1971 is also declared illegal and unconstitutional and thus, the claim of such protection under above-referred Section 3(d) is inconsequential. Natural consequences and legal implications whereof shall follow forthwith in accordance with law”.
Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said, “Supreme Court has provided clarity on the legal interpretation of the matter. The relief granted by the Supreme Court is significant, and we will now deliberate on the next steps after considering all legal aspects.”
Criticising the opposition’s behaviour, Sukhu said, “There are no controversies, but their behaviour is simply childish. Sometimes they talk about toilet tax, sometimes they indulge in ‘Samosa Politics.’ These are mere distractions.” He stated that since the BJP’s “Operation Lotus” was rejected by the people of the state and the Congress successfully retained its strength of 40 seats in the Vidhan Sabha, the Opposition’s attacks against him are a deliberate attempt to divert attention from the welfare schemes implemented by the state government over the past two years”.
{{/usCountry}}Criticising the opposition’s behaviour, Sukhu said, “There are no controversies, but their behaviour is simply childish. Sometimes they talk about toilet tax, sometimes they indulge in ‘Samosa Politics.’ These are mere distractions.” He stated that since the BJP’s “Operation Lotus” was rejected by the people of the state and the Congress successfully retained its strength of 40 seats in the Vidhan Sabha, the Opposition’s attacks against him are a deliberate attempt to divert attention from the welfare schemes implemented by the state government over the past two years”.
{{/usCountry}}BJP is driven by greed for power: Arki MLA
Arki MLA Sanjay Awasthy said, “BJP has been trying to de-stabilise the government and is driven by the greed for power,” adding, “Congress is working towards making Himachal self-reliant after recovering from the debt which the previous BJP had left. They have failed as a responsible opposition.”
BJP desperately trying to topple government: Palampur MLA
Palampur MLA Ashish Butail said, “Himachal is the first and only state where Operation Lotus failed. Congress is on strong footing and it is very shameful that BJP has been desperately trying to topple government.”
BJP trying to tarnish Himachal’s image: Kullu MLA
Kullu MLA Sunder Singh Thakur said, “BJP does not want Himachal to become self-reliant and thus are going all out to tarnish the state’s image.” He added, “The most ironic thing is that a person who himself remained CPSes had challenged the appointments.”
SC’s decision is victory for us: Revenue minister Negi
Speaking about the legal developments, revenue and horticulture minister Jagat Singh Negi criticised the BJP for misinterpreting the law to serve their political motives. He said, “Our argument in the Supreme Court was clear. The high court’s ruling drew comparisons to laws in Assam and Manipur, where CPSes were granted ministerial status. However, our laws are different and CPSes in Himachal do not hold ministerial status. This distinction was overlooked. The Supreme Court’s stay is a victory for us as it prevents any disqualification of CPSes for now.”
Principal media advisor to chief minister Naresh Chauhan termed the order as a “victory of the people of Himachal”. He said, “The elected government of the state was completely safe and there was no threat to it.”
Money being wasted on army of lawyers: Jai Ram Thakur
Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Jairam Thakur said, “CM Sukhu’s priority is to save the government and CPSes. The chief minister is only busy saving his chair while development in the state is at a standstill.”
Jai Ram, who is in Mandi, said, “Congress party is not in a position to run the government. To save the seats of their favourite CPSes, an army of lawyers is being deployed in Delhi and government money is being wasted.”
“The lack of maturity in the current leadership is the reason for the situation in which Himachal has reached today because hasty decisions are being taken in the Congress government, due to which not only the economic crisis is growing but the internal fighting in the Congress party is also increasing,” he added.