Nine MLAs shifted to Rishikesh hotel

Rishikesh, March 9

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Six Himachal Pradesh Congress MLAs who voted against party nominee Abhishek Manu Singhvi in the Rajya Sabha elections, along with three Independent lawmakers, have shifted to a hotel in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand amid an ongoing rebellion against Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.

Dharamsala Cong panel dissolved

• The Congress has dissolved its Dharamsala block committee, which was dominated by the supporters of rebel local MLA Sudhir Sharma. The action comes in continuation of the crackdown against Sudhir’s supporters
• Earlier, the government had removed five nominated members of the Dharamsala MC who were considered close to Sharma. Also, government officials considered close to him had also been transferred out of the region

Two BJP MLAs — Vikram Thakur and Trilok Jamwal — from Himachal Pradesh were accompanying the legislators, who arrived in Rishikesh from Panchkula by a chartered flight late on Friday and checked into Hotel Taj.

Congress MLAs Sudhir Sharma, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Devinder Kumar Bhuttu, Ravindra Thakur and Chaitanya Sharma have since been disqualified for defying the party whip on the state budget. They have approached the Supreme Court for relief in the matter.

Three Independent MLAs Hoshiar Singh, KL Thakur and Ashish Sharma were also with them when they arrived.

The Congress currently has 34 MLAs in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly while the BJP has 25. The three Independent MLAs had also sided with the BJP in the Rajya Sabha poll.

Security around the hotel has been tightened and no one is being allowed to enter the premises except those who have online bookings. The Congress has already stepped up efforts to set its house in order in Himachal Pradesh and is holding parleys with senior ministers of the state.