I didn’t leave Congress, Speaker expelled me in haste: Inder Dutt Lakhanpal

Hamirpur, May 23

Addressing a public meeting in the Barsar Assembly constituency on Thursday, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal said, “I did not leave the Congress, but the Speaker expelled me on unfair grounds.” Lakhanpal has been fielded by the BJP from Barsar for the Assembly bypoll, to be held on June 1.

Lakhanpal said he voted against Congress candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi during the Rajya Sabha elections as Singhvi was an outsider and his candidature was against the interests of the state.

The BJP bypoll candidate said he, along with other five MLAs, was expelled in haste and not given time to explain his reasoning.

“The people of Barsar had elected me to the Assembly to protect their interests, but Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was ignoring the constituency. The Chief Minister did not expect the expelled MLAs to join the BJP, but when this happened, he started calling us turncoats and alleged horse-trading,” said Lakhanpal

The BJP bypoll candidate said, “The Chief Minister has been misleading people for the past 15 months and now, he has spread a rumour that Rs 55 lakh was confiscated in Barsar. The Chief Minister should clarify the issue as no authority is confirming the confiscation of money in Barsar,” he said.

“The Chief Minister is frustrated after sensing defeat in Barsar and making unwanted statements. He urged people to vote him to vidhansabha so that he could continue his mission to serve people of Barsar. During campaigning, he urged people to vote for him in the upcoming Assembly bypoll.