Himachal Speaker to decide on three Ind MLAs’ resignations, says Governor

Tribune News Service

Pratibha Chauhan

Shimla, March 28

While Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kuldeep Pathania has summoned three Independent MLAs over their decision to resign from the House on April 10, Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla has made it clear that as per the Constitution, the Raj Bhawan has no role whatsoever in the issue.

He said, “The Raj Bhawan has no authority to interfere in the matter, so why should I unnecessarily get involved in it. The Speaker is free to run the affairs of the Assembly under whichever rules he feels appropriate. If people feel that there are certain shortcomings in the decision of the Speaker, they can knock the doors of court or else accept it.”

Urged Speaker to accept resignations

• The three Independent legislators — Hoshiyar Singh (Dehra), KL Thakur (Nalagarh) and Ashish Sharma (Hamirpur) — had submitted their resignations to the Speaker on March 22
• They had urged the Speaker to accept their resignations immediately so that fresh byelections could be notified
• They had also personallyhanded over a copy of their resignations to the Governor, urging him to impress upon the Speaker to accept them

The Speaker has summoned the three MLAs on April 10 to be convinced that they have not tendered their resignations under any pressure. The three, accompanied by Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur and other BJP MLAs, had handed over their resignations to the Speaker and the Vidhan Sabha Secretary on March 22.

Shukla said, “The Governor, as per the Constitution, also has no role whatsoever in the issue. Though the three MLAs wanted me to intervene in the matter, the Raj Bhawan cannot interfere.” He refused to divulge the details of the letter he had written to the Speaker.

He, however, said that he had sent the MLAs’ letter to the Speaker while citing rules in the context of the Supreme Court verdict with regard to the Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabhas. “It is for the Vidhan Sabha Speaker to take the final decision. As per the Supreme Court order, if an MLA hands over his resignation personally to the Speaker, the latter must accept it,” he added.

The Governor said that the three legislators had met him and he had sent their resignations to the Speaker, which were duly acknowledged. “The Vidhan Sabha Act and rules clearly define as to how the Speaker must act when the MLAs give physical presence and when they send the letter and are not present in person,” he added.

The three Independent legislators — Hoshiyar Singh (Dehra), KL Thakur (Nalagarh) and Ashish Sharma (Hamirpur) — had submitted their resignations to the Speaker on March 22. They had urged him to accept their resignations immediately so that fresh byelections could be notified. They had also handed over a copy of their resignations to the Governor personally, urging him to impress upon the Speaker to accept them forthwith.

“There appears to be a clear attempt to delay the entire procedure though we personally handed over our resignations to the Speaker,” said Hoshiyar Singh. He added that the three MLAs were keen that their resignations be accepted immediately so that byelections could be held along with the Lok Sabha elections in Himachal on June 1.

He also hinted that in case of undue delay in the acceptance of their resignations, the three MLAs could move court to get the entire process hastened.

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