Himachal Independent MLA Ashish Sharma, Congress rebel’s father booked

Subhash Rajta

Shimla, March 10

In a fresh twist to the ongoing political crisis in the state, the police have filed a case against Ashish Sharma, Independent MLA from Hamirpur, Rakesh Sharma, father of rebel Congress MLA from Gagret Chaitanya Sharma, and others on a complaint of Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sanjay Awasthy and Bhuvneshwar Gaur, MLA from the Manali Assembly constituency. The complainants have alleged misuse of money and other resources to buy votes of MLAs and to ensure their abstention from the House when the Budget was passed, and criminal conspiracy against a democratically elected government. The complaint was filed at the Boileauganj police station in Shimla on Saturday evening.

6-member coordination panel set up

• The AICC has formed a six-member committee for better coordination between the government and the party in the state
• CM Sukhu, HPCC chief Pratibha Singh, Deputy CM Agnihotri, Health Minister Shandil, Kaul Singh Thakur & Ram Lal Thakur are on panel

The police have registered the case under the Prevention of Corruption Act, criminal conspiracy and bribery.

“We believe money has exchanged hands to influence voting for the Rajya Sabha seat and for abstaining from the House when the Budget was being passed. So, we have gone to the police for a thorough investigation into the matter. We want the truth to come out in the open,” said Awasthy.

Awasthy also questioned the use of a helicopter for ferrying MLAs from one place to another and the five-star accommodation being provided to them. “This also suggests that money is involved in the entire episode,” claimed Awasthy.

The complainants have also made a reference to the recent Supreme Court judgment, wherein the apex court ruled that MPs and MLAs cannot claim immunity from prosecution for taking bribe to cast a vote in the House. “As the nature of the case is similar to what the Supreme Court has ruled, we have made a mention of this in our complaint,” Awasthy said.

Ashish and Chaitanya, along with other seven MLAs who voted in favour of the BJP candidate for the Rajya Sabha seat, are putting up at a private hotel in Rishikesh.

Meanwhile, the AICC has formed a six-member coordination committee for better coordination between the government and the party in the state. The members of the committee will be Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, HPCC president Pratibha Singh, Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri, Health Minister Dhani Ram Shandil and veteran Congress leaders Kaul Singh Thakur and Ram Lal Thakur. The committee was recommended by AICC observes a few days ago.