“Pressure tactics will not help, with this attitude, CM Sukhu should be ready to face the consequences in future. If the CM thinks that he could win hearts by registering false complaints he is mistaken. This kind of politics compelled the MLAs to vote in favour of the BJP,’’ said Rajinder Rana rebel congress lawmaker and added that a lot of pressure is being put on them to return to the Congress fold.
In a joint statement issued the legislators said they are fighting a battle of self-respect and questioned the mindset of the CM who is approaching them for compromise on the one hand and issuing statements like black snakes and shepherds for them on the other hand.
Apart from the six MLAs who cross-voted, three independent legislators had also voted in favour of BJP nominee Harsh Mahajan. This triggered a crisis in the state’s Congress government, which appeared to have lost its majority in the assembly.
The six Congress MLAs namely Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma and Devinder Kumar Bhutto and three independents include Ashish Sharma, Hoshiyar Singh and K L Thakur are now campaigning at a five-star resort at Rishikesh in Uttarakhand.
While addressing a huge public gathering at the old bus stand at Solan, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said, “We are not afraid of political challenges. We will face every challenge with determination and will realize the vision of self-reliant Himachal by the year 2032.’’
