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The Himachal Pradesh Police on Sunday registered a case against an independent MLA and the father of a Congress rebel over “electoral offences” related to the recent Rajya Sabha polls in which six party MLAs voted for the BJP candidate from the state. The development comes almost two weeks after the chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government plunged into a political crisis after the loss on the lone vacant Rajya Sabha seat in the state.
A case under sections 171 A and C (undue influence on elections) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 7 and 8 (public servant taking undue advantage) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, has been registered against independent MLA from Hamirpur Ashish Sharma and former Uttarakhand chief secretary Rakesh Sharma, father of Congress’ Garget MLA (now disqualified ) Chaitanya Sharma.
“There is enough evidence. We have also collected CCTV camera footage” said Shimla superintendent of police Sanjeev Gandhi while confirming that a case has been registered.
“Any pressure tactics will not work, the stone crusher owned by chief minister’s relatives was violating the norms,” said Ashish Sharma, who is among the nine MLAs now lodged at Taj Hotel at Sangli near Uttarakhand’s Rishikesh. The case was registered at the Boileuaganj police station on a complaint filed by Manali MLA Bhubaneswar Gaur and chief parliamentary secretary and Arki legislator Sanjay Awasthi. Awasthi and Gaur are close associates of chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
The complaint alleges that the six rebel MLAs, Sudhir Sharma, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Rajinder Rana, Chaitanya Sharma, Devender Bhutto and Ravi Thakur, connived with the Bharatiya Janata Party and used unfair means in the Rajya Sabha elections. It adds that Chaitanya’s father Rakesh Sharma also connived to facilitate the six rebels.
The complainants alleged that Rakesh Sharma used his influence for the transportation of MLA’s. Complaints also mentioned that police investigations should track who facilitated the Pawan hans choppers for ferrying the nine MLAs, apart from it the complaints alleged that BJP arranged for the transportation and lodging of MLA.
“I have filed the complaint as a public servant. They used unfair means in the elections. Its is unfortunate that they have vitiated the political atmosphere in a peaceful state like Himachal,” said chief parliamentary secretary Sanjay Awasthi.
The crisis in Congress began on February 27, when BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan defeated Congress’ Abhishek Manu Singhvi after 6six MLAs of the grand old party cross-voted. The BJP, which has 25 seats in the House, managed 34 votes as the three independents, Ashish Sharma, Hoshiyar Singh and KL Thakur, also voted for Mahajan.
The tie was resolved by a draw lots. The six Congress MLAs were disqualified on February 29 by speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania for violating the party whip and abstaining from voting on the budget. The disqualification had no connection with the Rajya Sabha polls, the speaker had said. The rebel MLAs have moved the Supreme Court against the speaker’s decision, where the matter has been listed for March 12.
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