Himachal Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania disqualifies 6 Congress MLAs who cross-voted in Rajya Sabha poll

The disqualification of the MLAs comes at a time when the All India Congress Committee observers DK Shivakumar, Bhupesh Baghel and Bhupinder Singh Hooda are in Shimla, holding meetings with Congress leaders and taking their feedback regarding the crisis the party has faced after the defeat of its candidate, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, in the lone Rajya Sabha seat from the state.

The six MLAs, namely Rajinder Singh Rana, Sudhir Sharma, Chaitanya Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal and Davinder Bhutto, had cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha election in favour of BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan, who won by draw of lots after a tie of 34 votes each in the 68-member Assembly.

The six MLAs were not disqualified for cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha election, which does not fall attract provisions of the anti-defection law, but for defying the party whip as per which they were supposed to be present on the floor of the House at the time of voting on cut-off motions on demands and the finance Bill.

Announcing their disqualification in Shimla and reading out the operational part in that regard from his judgment, which ran in nearly 30 pages, Pathania said, “Consequently, I hold the respondents have incurred disqualification under para 2, clause 1, sub-clause (a) of the 10th schedule (known in common parlance as anti-defection law) and therefore I hold and declare that respondent number 1 to 6 cease to be member of the Himachal Pradesh legislative Assembly with immediate effect.”

Reacting to the disqualification of the six MLAs, Randhir Sharma, BJP MLA for Sri Naina Deviji, said over the phone, “This is a decision taken in haste and only aimed at keeping the Congress in power.” Sharma said a BJP meeting was on to discuss the development.

Addressing the media, Pathania said the decision was not made in his capacity as the Assembly speaker “but as tribunal judge or whatever you say”. “The petition discloses that six members—when the party has issued a whip to them, they defied the whip,” he said, adding that he looked into “whether it attracts the provisions of anti-defection law or not” to arrive at the conclusion.

“It is a matter of record. The (six) honourable members were present here. They have marked their attendance in the Vidhan Sabha register. We have seen that. It is part of the Vidhan Sabha record also. And when the cut motions and demands were put to vote they were not inside. Yesterday also when the finance Bill was presented in the House and when it was to be passed, they were not in the House. So they have defied the whip and they have attracted the provisions of the anti-defection law,” he said.

Pathania said the pronouncement of decision was in reference to observations made by the Supreme Court and various high courts in various judgments. Terming it as an “elaborate and exhaustive order” that ran into “nearly 30 pages”, the speaker said he gave exhaustive hearing to advocates from the Supreme Court and the high court who appeared for the petitioner and the respondents.

Pathania said advocates were “repeatedly going to urinal, but I kept on sitting. And I said I will be hearing you if you want to argue up to 8’o clock, 9’o clock, 10’ o clock. 11’o clock or 12’ o clock (midnight).” He said arguments were concluded at 6 pm (on Wednesday) after starting at 4 pm. “One advocate took one hour and ten minutes and the other took nearly one hour. They were heard exhaustively. The record was perused,” he added.

Pathania said that Satya Pal Jain, who appeared for the six MLAs, was “time and again referring to be given more time”. “I said there was no need to give more time, reason being it is a matter of record,” he added.

While declaring that the six MLAs “cease to be member of this august, honourable House”, Pathania also said, “The judgement is subject to judicial scrutiny and will attain finality after the scrutiny by the high court and the Supreme Court.”

“As per my order, their membership has been cancelled,” said Pathania.

“And, I had to pass the order at the earliest since the intention behind the anti-defection law and as per Law Commission reports, there should not be a politics of Aaya Ram Gaya Ram (a satirical expression for frequent turncoats). If you take the oath as a candidate of a particular party, you should adhere to the ideology of that very party,” he said.

Pointing out that the Congress government had been given the mandate by people for five years with 40 candidate winning from the party, Pathania said, “If they do politics of Aaya Ram Gaya Ram, horse trading (khareedo farokht) and corruption, I have to see this part as Speaker because I have to dispense justice to everybody and to Himachal Pradesh as a whole, not to the Congress or the BJP.”

Responding to a query, Pathania said he was not levelling any allegations against anybody but just “want to stop politics of horse trading and corruption”. He said the six MLAs marked their attendance twice in the Assembly but were not present on both occasions in the House, as mandated by the whip, and thereby defied the whip.

Pathania made it clear that he had not looked into “second part” of Rajya Sabha voting since the whip was not applicable in that. “I only looked into the part which attracts the provision of anti-defection law,” he said, adding that he had, though, given his viewpoint on Rajya Sabha voting norms.

“An MLA of 80,000 people is elected by 40,000 people who cast vote in his favour. After getting elected, he votes as per his will…since it is a fight of political ideology, of the Congress and the BJP, you defy the ethics of own party party and vote for other. This is unethical and this is what I have said in the judgment also. The Supreme Court may take cognizance of that also. But, I have mainly touched the other part which relates to the violation of the whip and our members attracted the provisions of anti-defection law,” the speaker said.

Earlier on Thursday morning the chief minister hosted Congress MLAs for breakfast at his official residence.

Congress MLA Sanjay Awasthi said Sukhu had invited all party MLAs, except the six MLAs who cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha election. “I believe the six MLAs who engaged in cross-voting have no place in the party. There is no question of inviting them,” he said in response to a query.