Congress fumes after HP Speaker dismisses no-trust motion; avers 'people rejected BJP'

After Himachal Pradesh Speaker Vipin Singh Parmar rejected the no-confidence motion moved by Congress, the Sonia Gandhi-led party cried foul on Friday. While Congress claimed to have the support of 23 legislators, the Speaker refused to admit the motion after only 19 opposition MLAs, i.e less than one-third strength was present in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly. Speaking to the media thereafter, Leader of Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri flashed a paper showing the signatures of the aforesaid 23 MLAs and asserted that BJP had no right to stay in power after losing the recently concluded by-elections. 

Congress MLA Mukesh Agnihotri remarked, "We moved no-confidence motion against the current government. Congress has 22 MLAs. We have the support of Rakesh Singha and have the signatures of 23 legislators. One-third MLAs were required to move this no-confidence motion. Despite this, the motion was rejected. This government has lost its credibility, authority. The people of the state have rejected them. They have lost in all the 4 elections held recently. The CM lost in his home (district)." 

BJP's defeat in by-polls

In the previous Assembly election, BJP won 44 seats in the 68-member Assembly. However, Jairam Thakur emerged as the consensus choice for the CM's post after BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal lost the election. On the other hand, the Sonia Gandhi-led party was reduced to 21 seats. The October 30 by-election to the Assembly seats of Fatehpur, Arki and Jubbal-Kotkhai and the Lok Sabha constituency of Mandi was necessitated by the demise of Sujan Singh Pathania, Virbhadra Singh, Narinder Bragta and Ram Swaroop Sharma.

While Congress managed to retain Fatehpur and Arki, it wrested Jubbal-Kotkhai and Mandi from the saffron party. Congress' victory assumed significance ahead of the next Assembly election late next year. Moreover, the win of 6-time CM Virbhadra Singh's wife Pratibha Singh was perceived as a setback for Thakur whose home district is Mandi. 

Calling upon BJP workers to address all shortcomings by 2022, the HP CM flagged inflation as one of the main causes for the party's defeat. He opined, "From the beginning, Congress used inflation as a big weapon. Inflation was an issue. They used this issue. But the truth is that inflation is not limited to Himachal but is a global issue. In today's age, inflation has increased across the world". 

Image: PTI