Page 19 - Himachal Pradesh

Disqualified Congress MLAs, Independents in Himachal likely to join BJP

Several former MLAs of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly are expected to join the BJP and contest the upcoming bypolls on its ticket, sources said on Saturday, as the political crisis plaguing the state continues to rumble on. Six rebel Congress MLAs -- Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma and Devinder Kumar Bhutto -- were disqualified on February 29 for defying a party whip to be present in the House and vote in favour of the Himachal Pradesh government during a cut motion and budget. The Election Commission has announced bypolls for their constituencies. Three Independent MLAs -- Ashish Sharma, Hoshiyar Singh and KL Thakur -- submitted their resignations on Friday. Bypolls are expected to be held for their seats as well. "We have submitted our resignations. We will join the BJP and contest the elections on its ticket," Singh had later told reporters. The Congress government led by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was last month plunge

Congress to finalise Himachal LS list soon, options open for rebels: Kimta

The Congress leader further said, "We have implemented the Old Pension Scheme and provided an honorarium of 1500 rupees to the women

Analysing economic progress of states through budgets & advance estimates

Several states have come out with the Budgets for 2024-25 and hence advance estimates. Let us use them to analyse the economic performance or outlook of some of those states

SC refuses to stay HP Assembly Speaker order disqualifying rebel Cong MLAs

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the order of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker disqualifying six Congress rebels, who had cross-voted in the recent Rajya Sabha polls in the state. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta issued notice to the office of HP Assembly speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania and sought its response to the plea in four weeks. The bench said that pending adjudication of their plea, rebel HP Congress MLAs will not be allowed to vote or participate in the proceedings of the Assembly. "On the question of by-election on six vacant seats, we will have to examine whether the elections which have been notified by the ECI are to be stayed during the pendency of plea," the bench said. It posted the matter for listing on May 6 and gave the rebel MLAs a week to file their rejoinder. The filing of nominations for six vacant assembly seats starts on May 7. The six rebels -- Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya S

EC launches special campaign in Himachal Pradesh to boost voter turnout

The Election Commission has launched a special campaign in Himachal Pradesh to maximise voter turnout in 414 polling stations which registered less than 60 per cent voting in the last Lok Sabha polls. Bypolls to six assembly seats that fell vacant after disqualification of Congress MLAs would be held simultaneously with four Lok Sabha seats in Himachal Pradesh in the last phase on June 1. The main focus of the campaign -- "Mission 414" -- is increasing the vote percentage in 414 identified polling stations which registered less than 60 percent voting in the last Lok Sabha polls, Chief Electoral Officer, Himachal Pradesh, Maneesh Garg told PTI on Monday. Awareness campaigns and cultural events would be held besides making these 414 stations model polling stations. Booth youth icons from first time voters would be roped in and special invitation cards made by children would be given to prospective voters, he said. Letters had been sent to the respective Deputy Commissioners in Febru

Lok Sabha elections: Key seats to watch in UP, Punjab, Raj, other states

The BJP won all four Himachal Pradesh Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. In the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, it is fighting a divided Congress. The seats include these. * Hamirpur: The BJP has fielded Union minister Anurag Thakur from Hamirpur, the Lok Sabha seat he has been winning since a 2008 bypoll. CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and his deputy Mukesh Agnihotri also represent assembly segments in Hamirpur. Five of the six Congress MLAs who recently rebelled against the party were also elected from Hamirpur assembly segments. * Mandi: Members of the region's erstwhile families have tried their luck here. Himachal Congress president Pratibha Singh currently represents the constituency which also sent her husband Virbhadra Singh to Parliament in the past.

Himachal Pradesh govt issues notification for granting pension to women

Facing criticism for not honouring a poll promise of giving Rs 1,500 per month to women in the age bracket of 18 to 59 years, the Himachal Pradesh government issued a notification on Thursday for granting pension under the Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi Yojana. On March 4, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced that the state government will give Rs 1,500 per month to women and said a sum of Rs 800 crore would be spent on the initiative, benefitting more than five lakh women annually. According to the notification, income-tax payers, women monks permanently staying in monasteries, family members of employees, pensioners of central and state governments and employees of panchayati raj institutions, local bodies and public sector undertakings of the state and central governments will not get the amount. The other categories excluded from the pension are contractual employees, outsourced employees, daily wagers, part-time employees, ex-servicemen and their widows,

Why haven't you moved HP HC against disqualification: SC asks rebel MLAs

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked six rebel Congress MLAs, who had cross-voted in the recent Rajya Sabha polls in Himachal Pradesh, as to why they have not moved the high court challenging their disqualification. Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania had on February 29 disqualified the six MLAs on the Congress' plea for "defying" the party whip that required them to be present in the House and vote for the budget. Their plea challenging the Speaker's decision came up for hearing before a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Dipankar Datta and Prashant Kumar Mishra. The counsel representing the six petitioners requested the bench to adjourn the matter for either March 15 or March 18, saying senior advocate Harish Salve, who would appear for them, was not able to join the proceedings. "But tell us one thing, why didn't you go to the high court?" Justice Khanna asked. When the counsel said the petitioners have explained the reasons in the petition and they were electe

FIR filed against those using unfair means to destabilise govt: Himachal CM

The Chief Minister said that the Congress party has organised a torchlight protest against those who tried to destabilize the government

Disqualified MLAs moved like they are being shepherded: Himachal CM Sukhu

Firing a fresh salvo at the six disqualified Congress MLAs, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday said they are being driven from one place to other 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 at in Mandi, 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 rebels 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. Sukhu added that the publi

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 als

Snowfall disrupts life in Lahaul-Spiti; power, communication lines down

Normal life was thrown out of gear in the tribal areas of the district following near-relentless snowfall over three consecutive days--on March 2, 3 and 4

Nitin Gadkari dedicates projects worth Rs 4,000 crore to Himachal Pradesh

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 15 National Highway and ropeway projects worth Rs 4,000 crore in Hamirpur. Union Minister Anurag Thakur and Himachal Pradesh Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh were also present during the event held at the police line complex here. BJP's national president JP Nadda joined the programme virtually. Gadkari announced an additional Rs 150 crore for roads and bridges in Himachal Pradesh on the demand of Vikramaditya Singh and asked the state government to send a proposal to the Centre in this regard. Addressing a gathering, Gadkari said that the BJP and development are two faces of the same coin and by 2024, works worth Rs one lakh crore will be completed in the state. The progress would continue under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he added. He asked people to join hands with PM Modi to carry out the development works and to make India a third-world

Congress govt looking to disqualify 7 BJP MLAs: HP LoP Jairam Thakur

After the 2022 Assembly elections, the Congress had 40 MLAs, while the BJP had 25 in the 68-member state assembly. The remaining three seats are held by independents

Earthquake of magnitude 3.2 hits Himachal Pradesh's Lahaul, Spiti

Tremors were felt in parts of Himachal Pradesh's Lahaul and Spiti after a magnitude 3.2 earthquake hit the district on Monday afternoon, officials said. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 5 km. No reports of loss of life or property have been received so far, they said. The tribal district of Lahaul and Spiti falls in seismic zone IV, which is a high damage risk zone.

Highlights of the day: Magnitude 3.2 earthquake hits HP's Lahaul and Spiti

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IND vs ENG 5th Test: Dharamsala weather forecast for next seven days

Thursday, March 7 will be the coldest with the highest temperature being seven degrees Celsius and the lowest being four. The day will also face morning showers and afternoon thunderstorms

BJP chief Nadda quits RS seat from Himachal after election from Gujarat

BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda on Monday resigned as a member of the Rajya Sabha from Himachal Pradesh. Officials said Nadda resigned from his Himachal Pradesh seat after being elected as a Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat. "...his resignation has been accepted by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha w.e.f. 4th March, 2024," a Parliament bulletin said.

Himachal CM Sukhu announces Rs 1,500 per month for women in 18-60 age group

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday announced that the state government will give Rs 1,500 per month to women in the age group of 18 to 60 years from the next financial year. This was one of the 10 'guarantees' promised by the Congress ahead of the assembly polls. Addressing the media here, he said that Rs 800 crore would be spent on the initiative -- Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi Yojna -- annually and over five lakh women would be covered under it. He said that with this, five out of 10 poll promises have been fulfilled and reiterated that the old pension scheme was restored benefitting 1.36 lakh employees of the state.

Tourists in Himachal's Spiti shifted to safer places; 650 roads closed

As many as 81 tourists stranded in Himachal Pradesh's Spiti Valley due to closure of roads after heavy snowfall have been shifted to safer places, police said on Monday. Meanwhile, over 650 roads, including five national highways, in the state remained closed for vehicular movement on Monday following several avalanches and landslides caused by incessant rain and snow for the past three days, according to the state emergency operation centre. The 81 tourists stranded in Spiti Valley in Lahaul and Spiti district were on Sunday night shifted to and accommodated in different hotels and homestays there, the police said in a statement. About 290 roads are blocked in this tribal district and several areas are without electricity for the past two days, the statement said. Heavy rain and snow in Lahaul and Spiti has also disrupted the mobile network, it added. On Sunday, an avalanche hit Dara Waterfall near Jasrat village in Lahaul and Spiti, obstructing the flow of Chenab and triggerin