Day after Rajya Sabha poll upset in Himachal Pradesh, BJP leaders meet governor, seek floor test on cut motion

Tribune News Service

Shimla, February 28

Members of the BJP Legislature Party led by Jai Ram Thakur on Wednesday met Himachal Pradesh Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, a day after the party won the lone Rajya Sabha seat in the state.

The BJP leaders demanded that the governor ensure that business was undertaken as per rules in the Vidhan Sabha on Wednesday.

Thakur said there was no need for the BJP to bring a no-confidence motion as the government would fall when the Congress did not have adequate MLAs when voting is done on the cut motion. 

Accusing Vidhan Sabha Speaker of not acting in an impartial manner, the BJP has sought intervention of the governor to ensure that division of votes must be done on the cut motion and not by voice vote.

The BJP had made it clear that it would not remain silent on the "unfair and unethical" behaviour of the Speaker in conducting the assembly.

He said his party wants that everything should be done as per rules and after the cut motion there should be division of votes and not counting by voice vote.

As of now, the BJP is banking on division of votes on the cut motion in the assembly.

The Congress has 40 MLAs while the BJP has 25 in the 68-member state assembly. The remaining three seats are held by independents.

On Tuesday, Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania did not allow division of votes in cut motion pertaining to the health department and "we have come here to apprise the governor of the situation", Thakur told reporters before meeting the governor.

He alleged that the marshals manhandled BJP members when they were going towards the chamber of the Speaker to register their protest. The BJP won the Rajya Sabha seat with its candidate Harsh Mahajan defeating Congress stalwart Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

The voting was a tie with both the Congress and the BJP candidates getting 34 votes, indicating that six Congress MLAs voted against the party. The result was then declared on the basis of a draw of lots. With PTI inputs

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