Haryana RS poll: 2 Congress MLAs claim votes cast for party candidate, deny cross-voting charge
Five MLAs were issued show cause notices on March 20; Naraingarh MLA Shalley Chaudhary and Ratia (SC) MLA Jarnail Singh say they had shown their votes to CLP leader Bhupinder Hooda
Two out of five Congress MLAs, who had allegedly cross-voted in favour of BJP-backed Independent candidate in the March 16 Rajya Sabha elections, replied to show cause notices issued to them and claimed that they had voted for party candidate Karamvir Singh Boudh.
Five MLAs-Naraingarh MLA Shalley Chaudhary, Ratia (SC) MLA Jarnail Singh, Punahana MLA Mohd Ilyas, Hathin MLA Mohd Israil, and Sadhaura (SC) MLA Renu Bala were issued the show cause notices on March 20.
Sources informed that Naraingarh MLA Shalley Chaudhary and Ratia (SC) MLA Jarnail Singh replied that they had shown their votes to Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and added that it was wrong to attribute cross-voting to them.
Earlier, when the news of cross-voting had spread, Chaudhary’s husband Ram Kishan Gujjar, who was then a working president of the Haryana Congress, had resigned from the party. The two-time MLA is considered a part of the Selja camp.
Jarnail Singh is a three-time MLA.
Speaking at a function in his constituency on Thursday, Mohd Israil said that the public would decide whether he would contest in 2029 and from which party.
“Whatever I had done, it was for your development and your children. I have no selfish motive. I had taken the decision for your respect and not for any asset,” he said.
He added, “The government belongs to all. One important thing is that you should be respected in the next four years. Your work will be done. There will be development.” However, he is yet to give a reply to the show cause notice and give a clear statement on whether he cross-voted.
MLA Punahana, Mohammad Ilyas, met CM Nayab Singh Saini on Wednesday at his residence. The five-time MLA is yet to give a reply to the show-cause notice.
The show cause notices, dated March 20, to all five MLAs read that the cross-voting by them “appears to be a deliberate attempt to defeat the party's official candidate and constitutes a serious breach of party discipline. Such conduct amounts to anti-party activities and undermines the unity, integrity, and ideological commitments of the party. It is also in clear violation of the party constitution; rules end established norms.”
They were asked to give a reply within seven days of the receipt of the notices.
There is an open ballot system in the Rajya Sabha polls. An elected MLA doesn’t face any disqualification from the membership of the House for voting in a particular manner under the anti-defection law, but he may, at the most, attract action from the political party to which he belongs, as he has to show his ballot to an authorised agent.
