SHIMLA, Mar 31: The Himachal Pradesh BJP on Sunday termed the non-acceptance of the resignation of three Independent legislators from Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha “unconstitutional and illegal”.
Addressing the mediapersons here, BJP state media in-charge and MLA Randhir Sharma said, “Not accepting the resignation of the Independent MLAs is unconstitutional and illegal because when an MLA appears in person and resigns, then his resignation must be accepted as per the constitutional provision.”
Three Independent MLAs – Hoshiyar Singh from Dehra, Ashish Sharma from Hamirpur and K L Thakur from Nalagarh – who had voted for the BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan in the recently concluded Rajya Sabha election had tendered their resignation from the assembly on March 22 and joined the BJP the next day.
However, the Vidhan Sabha had sought an explanation from these MLAs till April 10 following a representation by the Congress legislative party that these MLAs resigned allegedly under duress and not voluntarily.
The three legislators had on Saturday staged a protest at the Vidhan Sabha campus insisting that they had resigned wilfully as they were being “humiliated and insulted”.
Sharma claimed that the Congress has become “dejected and demoralised” as defeat stares at its face in the Lok Sabha elections and assembly by-polls, and is therefore delaying the elections.
“The Congress also knows that the BJP will win all the six seats in the upcoming by-elections too and if these three Independent MLAs join the BJP and win the elections then the Congress government will cease to exist in the state,” said Sharma.
After the disqualification of six Congress rebels, the strength of the ruling party in the state has been reduced to 34 from 40, and the BJP is keen that the by-polls be held for all the nine assembly constituencies.
But so far the Election Commission has issued the schedule for by-polls to only six constituencies vacated following the disqualification of Congress rebels.
Randhir said that now such a situation has arisen that the three independent MLAs have to stage a protest in order to get their resignation accepted. (PTI)
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