Stalemate in HP Assembly continues as Congress stages walkout

Tribune News Service
Shimla, March 3

Congress on Wednesday staged a walkout from the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, demanding the revocation of the suspension of its five legislators, as the stalemate continued for the fourth day of the budget session.

Congress MLA Jagat Singh Negi raised the issue in the Assembly through a point of order. He termed the suspension of CLP Leader Mukesh Agnihotri and four other MLAs “illegal”.

Negi sought a ruling of suspension from Speaker Vipin Parmar, who said he would provide it after the question hour. 

Negi said the procedure adopted for recall of the house at 12.50 pm after the Governor’s address was wrong as the message was sent to the Congress MLAs at 12.56 pm.

He added that when the MLAs had been suspended from the house for the remaining period of the budget session, there was no justification for the FIR.

The Congress legislators resorted to sloganeering and later staged a walkout.

The five suspense MLAs—Agnihotri, Harshvardhan Chauhan, Vinay Kumar, Satpal Raizada and Sunder Thakur—sat on a dharna at the entry of the Vidhan Sabha complex.