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Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Wednesday reacted to the ongoing turmoil in the state, saying that his government will complete the five-year term as the BJP’s conspiracy to topple the government through some rebel MLAa has failed.
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When asked whether the six Congress MLAs who voted for the BJP candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections will be forgiven or their memberships will be cancelled, the CM said that all the MLAs are his younger brothers and he seeks to forgive all the people as he does not work to take revenge.
“Hum toh sab ko maaf karne wale log hai, hum badle ki bhavna se kaam karne wale log nahi hain. All are our younger brothers… Our govt will complete 5 years,” Sukhu said to the reporters.
Earlier in the day, he said that there is no question of accepting the resignation of Himachal Pradesh minister and son of former state CM late Virbhadra Singh, saying that Vikramaditya is like his younger brother and all his grievances will be addressed. Vikramaditya Singh resigned from Sukhu’s cabinet earlier today citing the disrespect shown to his late father by the government as the reason.
Read here: Vikramaditya Singh my brother, no question of accepting his resignation: Himachal CM
The crisis in Himachal Pradesh started when the BJP claimed that the Sukhu-led government was in the minority after the former won the state’s lone Rajya Sabha seat with its candidate Harsh Mahajan defeating Congress stalwart Singhvi, despite the latter being in the majority.
The contest tied with both the Congress and the BJP candidates getting 34 votes, indicating that at least six Congress MLAs voted against the party. Earlier today, amid the chaos, the Speaker suspended 15 MLAs, including LoP Jairam Thakur, for allegedly disturbing the house proceedings amid the budget session.
Meanwhile, to control the damage, the Congress sent Bhupesh Baghel, DK Shivakumar and Bhupinder Hooda to Shimla as observers to speak to the party MLAs and then submit a report to president Mallikarjun Kharge. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the party will not hesitate to take some difficult decisions if the need arises because the institution is above individuals.
Read here: ‘Shaitani argument’: Jairam Ramesh’s snub over question on Sonia Gandhi-Himachal
In the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Assembly, the Congress has 40 MLAs while the BJP has 25 legislators. The remaining three seats are held by independents.
(With inputs from agencies)