"BJP Is Shepherding Disqualified Congress MLAs": Himachal Chief Minister

In a fresh attack on the six disqualified Congress MLAs, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said they are being driven from one place to another like a shepherd herds a flock.

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 Sukhu.

Addressing a public meeting in Mandi, Mr Sukhu said the BJP is shepherding the six disqualified Congress MLAs, who betrayed the party, from one place to another, according to a statement.

He also asked why the BJP kept the rebel MLAs in a hotel in Haryana's Panchkula before flying them to Dehradun in a chartered plane and lodging them in a seven-star hotel in Rishikesh.

"These MLAs breached the trust of the people of their constituencies and the party by not listening to the call of conscience," he said.

Mr Sukhu added that the public will teach a lesson to those who tried to hatch a conspiracy and asserted that his government will complete its full tenure.

The Chief Minister said he came from an ordinary background and got the top post in the state by fighting for the rights of the people.

The post of the Chief Minister belongs to a common man and not to someone who wants the Chair for power and enjoyment and uses money to snatch it, he added.

Two Himachal BJP MLAs Vikram Thakur and Trilok Jamwal are accompanying the rebel Congress 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 were 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 with them when they arrived.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)