11 Himachal MLAs move to U'khand, Union minister says Sukhu govt will fall

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 Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.

Two BJP MLAs Vikram Thakur and Trilok Jamwal from Himachal Pradesh were accompanying the legislators, who arrived in Rishikesh from Haryana's 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 have since been 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 also with them when they arrived.

The Congress currently has 34 MLAs in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly while the BJP has 25. The three Independent MLAs had also sided with the BJP in the Rajya Sabha polls.

Security around the hotel has been tightened and no one is being allowed to enter the premises except those who have advance online bookings.

The hotel is located about 30 kilometres from Rishikesh along the Rishikesh-Badrinath Road.

The Congress has already stepped up efforts to set its house in order in Himachal Pradesh and is holding parleys with senior ministers of the state.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region BL Verma told reporters in Haridwar that the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh will soon fall.

"The Sukhu government in Himachal Pradesh is battling internal conflicts. It will not last long because of this infighting," Verma said.

He claimed Rahul Gandhi's actions have eradicated the Congress in Uttar Pradesh and will wipe it out from all over the country after the Lok Sabha elections.

Verma was in Haridwar to attend a 'Sahakarita Sammelan' organised at yoga guru Ramdev's Patanjali Yogpeeth.

Replying to a question about the presence of the Himachal Pradesh MLAs in Uttarakhand, Verma said the case of their expulsion is in the Supreme Court and the BJP honours the courts.

He also described the Samajwadi Party as a family-oriented organisation that will not be able to open its account in the general elections.

Calling the ongoing farmers' movement politically motivated, he claimed the budget for farmers was only Rs 21,900 crore in 2013-14. It has been increased by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to 1.25 lakh crore.

"But some political parties are trying to defame the government under the guise of farmers. They will never succeed," he said.