E-Paper
Onus on speaker to decide of Independent MLAs’ resignations: Himachal governor
The MLAs, Hoshiyar Singh, Ashish Sharma and KL Thakur, submitted their resignation letters to the speaker on March 22 and then wrote to the governor, seeking his intervention
Himachal Pradesh governor Shiv Pratap Shukla on Wednesday said that he had forwarded the letters of three Independent MLAs to the assembly speaker and the onus to take a decision on accepting their resignations is on him.
The MLAs, Hoshiyar Singh, Ashish Sharma and KL Thakur, submitted their resignation letters to the speaker on March 22 and then wrote to the governor, seeking his intervention.
“I have sent the letters to the speaker quoting the Supreme Court verdicts in cases of Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh and hope that the speaker has taken cognisance of it,” Shukla said on the sidelines of books release event, and added that the Raj Bhawan had dignity and he would maintain it. Shukla released two books at Raj Bhawan.
The governor said the Raj Bhawan does not possess authority in this matter and that he acted as a conduit forwarding the letters to the speaker.
These three MLAs, along with six Congress rebels, had voted in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Rajya Sabha election held on February 27. They submitted their resignation from the assembly to the speaker, a day before they joined the BJP.
However, the assembly has sought explanation from these MLAs by April 10 following a representation from the Congress Legislature Party that they resigned under duress and not voluntarily.
With the disqualification of the six Congress MLAs, the strength of the ruling party has come down from 40 to 34, including the Speaker who can vote only in the case of a tie during a floor test, in the 68-member assembly. The BJP has 25 members in the House.
