Editor's Pick | Six Congress rebel MLAs disqualified in Himachal

Himachal Pradesh Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania, on Thursday, disqualified the six Congress legislators who had cross-voted in favour of the BJP in the Rajya Sabha elections on February 27, from the State Assembly. The ground for disqualification was their absence from the Assembly when the State Budget and the Finance Bill were being put to vote, defying a party whip to vote in favour of the government. The disqualified MLAs are: Rajinder Rana, Sudhir Sharma, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Devinder Kumar Bhutoo, Ravi Thakur and Chetanya Sharma. By evening, information about their seats lying vacant was put up on the Assembly’s website. Mr. Rana, a three-term MLA, said they would move the Supreme Court against the disqualification as many of his colleagues did not even get a proper notice from the Speaker’s office. A team of All India Congress Committee (AICC) observers — Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Bhupesh Baghel and D.K. Shivakumar — told the media in Shimla that Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had taken responsibility for Abhishek Singhvi’s defeat in the Rajya Sabha elections. Asserting that the Congress government would complete its term of five years, the AICC observers announced that a six-member coordination committee would be set up to sort out internal differences. Sources told The Hindu that Mr. Sukhu, who had called himself a yodha (warrior), clearly conveyed to the team of AICC observers that he had the backing of at least 10-12 MLAs and replacing him before the Congress holds a vote of confidence would be detrimental to the party’s interest. The Chief Minister’s response comes after he was blamed for the Rajya Sabha debacle. The State was pushed into political turmoil on Tuesday, when Mr. Singhvi, the ruling Congress party’s nominee for the State’s sole Rajya Sabha seat, lost the election to the BJP’s Harsh Mahajan after six Congress MLAs voted in favour of Mr. Mahajan, threatening the survival of their own government. The Hindu’s Editorials An extra berth: On the Rajya Sabha election results A respite: On the Trump case The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz Vikramaditya Singh is the son of which former CM of Himachal Pradesh? Jairam Thakur Shanta Kumar Virbhadra Singh Prem Kumar Dhamal To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 01 March 2024 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]Open in browser [Mail icon]More newsletters Six Congress rebel MLAs disqualified in Himachal Himachal Pradesh Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania, on Thursday, [disqualified the six Congress legislators who had cross-voted]( in favour of the BJP in the Rajya Sabha elections on February 27, from the State Assembly. The ground for disqualification was their absence from the Assembly when the State Budget and the Finance Bill were being put to vote, defying a party whip to vote in favour of the government. The disqualified MLAs are: Rajinder Rana, Sudhir Sharma, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Devinder Kumar Bhutoo, Ravi Thakur and Chetanya Sharma. By evening, information about their seats lying vacant was put up on the Assembly’s website. Mr. Rana, a three-term MLA, said they would move the Supreme Court against the disqualification as many of his colleagues did not even get a proper notice from the Speaker’s office. A team of All India Congress Committee (AICC) observers — Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Bhupesh Baghel and D.K. Shivakumar — told the media in Shimla that Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had taken responsibility for Abhishek Singhvi’s defeat in the Rajya Sabha elections. Asserting that the Congress government would complete its term of five years, the AICC observers announced that a six-member coordination committee would be set up to sort out internal differences. Sources told The Hindu that Mr. Sukhu, who had called himself a yodha (warrior), clearly conveyed to the team of AICC observers that he had the backing of at least 10-12 MLAs and replacing him before the Congress holds a vote of confidence would be detrimental to the party’s interest. The Chief Minister’s response comes after he was blamed for the Rajya Sabha debacle. The State was pushed into political turmoil on Tuesday, when Mr. Singhvi, the ruling Congress party’s nominee for the State’s sole Rajya Sabha seat, lost the election to the BJP’s Harsh Mahajan after six Congress MLAs voted in favour of Mr. Mahajan, threatening the survival of their own government. The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][An extra berth: On the Rajya Sabha election resultsÂ]( [Arrow][A respite: On the Trump caseÂ]( The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz Vikramaditya Singh is the son of which former CM of Himachal Pradesh? - Jairam Thakur - Shanta Kumar - Virbhadra Singh - Prem Kumar Dhamal To know the answer and to play the full quiz, [click here](. 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