Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania Disqualifies Six Congress MLAs for Defying Party Whip

Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania disqualified six Congress MLAs who defied the party whip to vote in favour of the government on the Finance Bill in the House on Thursday, February 29.

The disqualified MLAs are Rajinder Rana, Sudhir Sharma, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Devinder Kumar Bhutoo, Ravi Thakur and Chetanya Sharma. Addressing reporters here, Pathania, who had reserved his verdict on the disqualification of the MLAs on Wednesday, said the legislators attracted the anti-defection law by defying the Congress whip as they were elected on the party's tickets.

#WATCH | Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania says, "Six MLAs, who contested on Congress symbol, attracted provisions of anti-defection law against themselves...I declare that the six people cease to be members of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly with immediate… pic.twitter.com/QQt92aM10v

— ANI (@ANI) February 29, 2024

"Six MLAs, who contested on Congress symbol, attracted provisions of anti-defection law against themselves...I declare that the six people cease to be members of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly with immediate effect," said the Speaker.

Pathania Further states, "..As per the anti-defection law, our secretariat received the petition filed against 6 legislators through the complainant, who is also the Himachal Pradesh Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harsh Wardhan Chauhan. When a speaker acts under the 10th schedule then he does not enjoy the power and privileges of the speaker but his position is as a tribunal, here I am in the shape of a tribunal judge...This pronouncement is in reference to those observations made by the Supreme Court and High Courts in various judgments..."

On Wednesday, Pathania had said that the Parliamentary Affairs Minister has filed a petition against the six Congress MLAs who cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha polls, adding that the majority is still with the Congress Party. 

The Congress government in the state faces a crisis after six MLAs crossed sides and are learnt to be in touch with the BJP. The Congress has 40 MLAs, while the BJP has 25 in the 68-member state assembly. Independents hold the remaining three seats.