Citing lack of self-respect in Congress, 6 disqualified Himachal MLAs join BJP

Tribune News Service

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, March 23

In a significant political development with potential consequences for the future of Himachal Pradesh, six disqualified Congress MLAs and three independent lawmakers who had voted for the saffron candidate in the March 27 Rajya Sabha poll joined the BJP on Saturday.

Disqualified Congress MLAs who switched sides include four-term MLA Sudhir Sharma, who was a minister in late Virbhadra Singh-led Congress government and AICC national secretary until recently; Rajinder Rana, three-term MLA from Hamirpur and Himachal Congress working president until recently; Ravi Thakur three-term MLA from Lahaul Spiti tribal area and son of Congress veteran Lata Thakur; Indradutt Lakhanpal, three-term Badsar MLA from Hamirpur; Devendra Bhutto: first time MLA from Una's Bangala and youngest Himachal MLA Chaitanya Sharma.

These six lawmakers took the decision to join the BJP after the Supreme Court recently refused to stay their disqualification and posted the matter for further hearing on May 6.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission has notified by-elections to these six segments they represent for June 1 along with Lok Sabha polls in the state.

Three independent MLAs who joined the BJP include two-term lawmaker from Nalagarh KL Thakur; two-term MLA from Dehra Hoshiyar Singh and Hamirpur MLA Ashish Sharma.

The joining took place in the presence of Union minister Anurag Thakur, who is Hamirpur MP; former Himachal CM Jairam Thakur, state chief Rajeev Bindal and BJP general secretary Arun Singh.

After joining the BJP, Sudhir Sharma and Rajinder Rana, MLAs of Dharamsala and Sujanpur respectively, said their decision was voluntary. Both said a person can compromise with anything but not self-respect.

“The Congress has no vision for the country and is disintegrating because all it can do is abuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We are all elected MLAs but such situations (of a switch) arise when there is no conducive work environment in the state and your self-respect is constantly undermined. We have never switched camps earlier and will remain in the BJP till the last breath of life,” Sudhir Sharma said, adding that the nine MLAs voted for a local Harsh Mahajan “because Congress gave a candidate who supported the side that opposed Ram Mandir in the apex court.”

Rana also said that Congress was in the “midst of a political disaster because of an invisible leadership.” This situation will exacerbate, he said.

Independent MLAs said they were happy to break free and join the BJP for the overall development of the state. “Himachal has been in a very bad shape. No work has been done in 15 months,” Hoshiyar Singh, Dehra MLA said.

The independent MLAs had on Friday submitted their resignation to Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania urging them to notify their seats as vacant to enable a fresh election.

Speaking at the event Anurag Thakur welcomed the MLAs into the party led by “the world's most popular leader PM Modi.”

“PM Modi considers Congress his second home. He oversaw the completion of Atal Tunnel; gave AIIMS; IIM, central university, Rs 50,000 crore for roads besides expanding railway networks. Everyone in Himachal had been asking what happened to the guarantees on which Congress came to power. People's anger was unleashed through these 9 MLAs when the Rajya Sabha poll was held,” Anurag Thakur said.

Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jairam Thakur termed the joining a “significant development for a small state like Himachal.”

These joinings are a message to the Congress top brass about the state of affairs in their party and government in Himachal where no one is happy, not the people, not the Congress cadres, he said.

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