Himachal Pradesh Assembly Suspends 15 BJP Members

Yesterday, an unprecedented uproar was witnessed in the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly, resulting in the suspension of 15 BJP members, including opposition leader Jairam Thakur, from the House. These suspensions were imposed following yesterday's altercation and misbehavior with the Speaker and chaos in the House by BJP members.

As soon as the proceedings of the Budget session of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly began yesterday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harshvardhan Chauhan proposed under Rule 319 to suspend 15 BJP members including leader of opposition from the House for the duration of the Budget session. The proposal stated that due to the unruly behavior of these members, it was not possible to conduct the House proceedings in an orderly manner, hence they should be suspended under Rule 319. Following the proposal of the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania placed the motion to suspend



all 15 BJP members for the Budget session in the House, which was passed by a voice vote.

The opposition members strongly protested against this decision, leading to a chaotic situation in the House. Opposition leader Jairam Thakur termed the suspension unfortunate and accused the Speaker of adopting a biased approach. Despite the orders of the Speaker and marshals, opposition members remained seated at their places, escalating the chaos.

After the suspended opposition members, including the leader of opposition, left the House, the proceedings resumed, and the budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 was passed amid the absence of the opposition. The session was adjourned indefinitely. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu clarified that the Congress government will remain in power for the full term of 5 years, and he will not resign from his post.