Himachal CM Sukhu hints at reconciliation with rebel MLAs

Amid turmoil within the Congress in Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday travelled to New Delhi to meet the party’s central leadership. Prior to leaving for the national capital, he hinted at reconciliation with the six rebel Congress MLAs who have been disqualified from the State Legislative Assembly.

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“If anyone has committed a mistake but mends, then there’s always an option to talk, and all possibilities could be worked out,” Mr. Sukhu told journalists in Shimla.

Sources in the party said that Mr. Sukhu is expected to meet Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and other senior party leaders. Deliberations on the ongoing political situation in the hill State, against the backdrop of rebel Congress legislators, are expected to take place, the source added.

Earlier, in a meeting, the Himachal Pradesh Cabinet, chaired by Mr. Sukhu, expressed full faith in his leadership, and condemned the alleged use of official machinery by the Union government to destabilise a democratically elected government.

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“The Cabinet condemned the nefarious designs used by the BJP to subvert the democratic process. The Cabinet resolved to inform the public of Himachal Pradesh about the propaganda of BJP and asserted that the State government will complete a full term of five years,” a statement by the State Cabinet said.

The State Cabinet also gave the nod to provide ₹1,500 per month under the ‘Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi’ scheme to all eligible women of the State above the age of 18 years, an official statement said.

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The six Congress legislators — Sudhir Sharma, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Devinder Kumar Bhutoo, Ravi Thakur and Chetanya Sharma — were disqualified from the Legislative Assembly by Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania after they cross-voted in favour of the Opposition BJP in the Rajya Sabha election on February 27. They later approached the Supreme Court against their disqualification. The ground for their disqualification was their absence from the Assembly when the State Budget and the Finance Bill were being put to the vote, defying a party Whip to vote in favour of the government.