New Delhi:
INDIA bloc candidate and Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s wife Kamlesh Thakur won the Dehra assembly bypoll in Himachal Pradesh today, making a successful debut in electoral politics.

5 Facts About Kamlesh Thakur:

After the six Congress MLAs switched sides to the BJP in Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu on Monday said that all the defecting MLAs will be behind bars soon.

While addressing an election rally in Shimla Sukhu said that the government will run for three and a half more years, and will repeat in 2027. He said that after June 1 the people of the state will teach a lesson to the “corrupt people”.

The left-wing CPI(M) leaders also shared a stage with Congress in Shimla during the election rally in Shimla which was held in favour of the Congress candidate after nomination.

The Congress Party candidate from the Shimla parliamentary seat Vinod Sultanpuri filed nomination papers in the presence of CM Sukhu today.

After this, while addressing the public meeting at Chaura maidan, the Chief Minister launched a fierce attack on the rebel legislators who had rebelled against the Congress and joined the BJP.

Addressing the public meeting, Mr Sukhu said that six tainted leaders of the Congress Party were sold out by money power and rebelled against the party. Sukhu said that after presenting the budget 2024-25, all the tainted leaders praised the government, but when they were allured by the BJP with money, they were sold in the political market and ran away to Panchkula to get the second instalment.

“Congress has the power of the people. This fight is not to save the government or the post of Chief Minister, but to teach a lesson to those corrupt people and also to save the constitution and democracy. BJP leaders had conspired to topple the government through money and this election will decide the future politics,” he added.

Chief Minister Sukhu said that the people of Himachal Pradesh will give a befitting reply to the politics of horse trading by defeating the BJP in these elections and setting an example for the entire country.

He said that the BJP has stolen one Rajya Sabha seat, but the people of the state will give all four Lok Sabha seats to Congress. “All these corrupt people will be put behind bars. Sukhu Sarkar will run for three and a half more years. After this, part two of the government will be repeated in the year 2027,” he added.

Elections to four Lok Sabha seats in Himachal Pradesh along with assembly by-polls, following the disqualification of six rebel Congress MLAs, will be held on June 1 in the last phase of polling.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Hamirpur/Shimla:

The six disqualified Congress MLAs in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday said they will file a defamation case against Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and threatened to “expose” him.

In a joint statement, the six disqualified Congress MLAs and three Independent lawmakers said they have decided to file a defamation case against Mr Sukhu and the chief minister will be liable to prove the allegations he has made against them.

The six Congress MLAs, who had abstained from voting on a cut motion and finance bill (Budget) in the assembly, were disqualified for defying a party whip to be present in the House and vote in favour of the government.

Disqualified Congress MLAs Rajendra Rana, Ravi Thakur, Sudhir Sharma, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma and Devinder Kumar Bhutto and Independent lawmakers KL Thakur, Hoshiyar Singh and Ashish Sharma said they will tell the public how they were humiliated during the past 14 months and development works in their constituencies stopped.

They alleged that Mr Sukhu has become nervous as power is slipping out of his hands and he is fearful that his “deeds” will be exposed if he loses power.

They also said the government shut the doors on unemployed youngsters, the Congress manifesto was thrown into the dustbin and “favourites” are being rewarded even during an acute financial crisis.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Shimla:

In a fresh attack on the six disqualified Congress MLAs, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said they are being driven from one place to another 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 in Mandi, Mr 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 rebel 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.

Mr Sukhu added that the public will teach a lesson to those who tried to hatch a conspiracy and asserted that his government will complete its full tenure.

The Chief Minister said he came from an ordinary background and got the top post in the state by fighting for the rights of the people.

The post of the Chief Minister belongs to a common man and not to someone who wants the Chair for power and enjoyment and uses money to snatch it, he added.

Two Himachal BJP MLAs Vikram Thakur and Trilok Jamwal are accompanying the rebel Congress legislators who arrived in Rishikesh from 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 were 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 with them when they arrived.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Shimla:

In a setback to the Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government, the Himachal Pradesh High Court on Tuesday declared the water cess levied on hydropower generation unconstitutional. With this, the government will have to forgo an annual revenue of around Rs 2,000 crore it was hoping to make by levying the cess on hydroelectric projects.

The Sukhu-led Himachal government has now decided to move the Supreme Court on the issue.

A high court division bench of Justices Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Stayen Vaidya on Tuesday said that the provisions of the Himachal Pradesh Water Cess on Hydropower Generation Bill, 2023 exceed the state’s legislative competence as per Articles 246 and 265 of the Constitution of India, rendering it ultra vires (beyond its legal powers).

Sections 10 and 15 of the Himachal Pradesh Water Cess on Hydropower Electricity Generation Act, 2023, dealing with fixation and liability to pay cess made applicable to the existing projects, are declared to be unconstitutional and stand quashed, the bench said.

“The provisions of the Himachal Pradesh Water Cess on Hydropower Electricity Generation Act, 2023, are declared to be beyond the legislative competence of the State Government in terms of Articles 246 and 265 of the Constitution of India. Consequently, the Himachal Pradesh Water Cess on Hydropower Electricity Generation Rules 2023, are also quashed and set aside,” the judgment passed by a division bench of Justices Tarlok Chauhan and Satyen Vaidya stated.

Rajnish Maniktala, the advocate of the petitioner said “There are potential hydroelectric projects in the state. The government of Himachal Pradesh invited projects to exploit the potential and the investors invested lots of money projects were commissioned and there was no concept of water cess then for taxation.”

He further added that the government and legislature came up with an Act and levied the Cess depending on the generation and usage of water. This amount was calculated in Crores of rupees and the petitioners questioned this act. As per Article 246 of the Constitution, there were no powers of the state.

“Consequently the court has ordered a refund of the money to those projects from whom the state government has charged water Cess. Article 265 of the Indian constitution says no tax can be levied by the state government on the provisions of the law. It has been sound that this act is unconstitutional and has observed that it has ultra vires the constitution. There were nearly 40 petitioners in the case,” added Mr Maniktala.

Anup Kumar Rattan, Advocate General of the High Court, said, “The state government had constituted the Water Cess Act and it has been quashed by the High Court. The Act was constituted with the idea to generate resources in the state as over 70% area in the state either is under occupation of forest or water area. The state government tried an attempt to tap those resources. Such Acts were functional in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Sikkim and governments are getting revenue.”

He further said that along similar lines, the state government had imposed water cess on hydropower generation companies on the uses of water and there was a possibility of generating income for the state.

The court has declared it unconstitutional as it was not in the competence of the state government. The court has also ordered that if tax is charged, the refund should be given within four weeks.

The state is facing an acute fiscal crunch and some of the hydropower players have already deposited Rs 33 crore as cess. The case in the high court had been filed by nearly 40 hydropower generators.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Amid the political crisis in Himachal Pradesh, especially over Congress MLA Vikramaditya Singh’s resignation, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said he had a discussion with the rebel Congress leader during the cabinet meeting on Thursday following which Vikramaditya Singh went to Chandigarh.

“Vikramaditya Singh was in the cabinet meeting yesterday. I had a discussion with him. After the cabinet meeting, he went to Chandigarh and met other legislators at Lalit Hotel there. He has tried to influence the minds of other (rebel) MLAs. Some of them want to come back to the Congress,” the Chief Minister told ANI on Friday.

Mr Sukhu also shared that he had a word with Vikramaditya Singh, a former royal and also the son of six-time chief minister Late Virbhadra Singh.

“I had a word with him (Vikramaditya Singh) in the morning at 7 am, then again at noon. I have told him to speak with the high command as well,” the Chief Minister said.

Mr Sukhu said that while one of the rebel MLAs had telephoned him and shared his interest to come back to the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which is taking all steps to topple the Congress government in the hill state, has allegedy stationed more CRPF troops at Panchkula’s Lalit Hotel where the six rebel Congress MLAs are currently staying.

“One of the MLAs rang me up and told me that he wants to come back to the Congress. But he can only come back when he is within Himchal’s boundary. He is at Panchkula’s Lalit Hotel. I have just heard that more CRPF personnel have been stationed there,” the Chief Minister said.

Mr Sukhu said that he will welcome the rebel Congress MLA who wants to come back to the Congress’ fold but they will not take any coercive measures.

“When he has made up his mind, he may come and we will welcome him. It is not in Himachal’s culture to force someone. Hooliganism is not in Himachal’s culture,” he said.

The six MLAs who have been disqualified after they crossvoted in the Rajya Sabha polls are Sudhir Sharma, Rajinder Rana, Davinder K Bhutto, Ravi Thakur, Chaitanya Sharma and Inder Dutt Lakhanpal.

The crossvoting led to a surprise win by BJP’s candidate Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha from Himachal Pradesh.

Meanwhile, Vikramaditya Singh who on Wednesday took back his resignation as a minister in the state continues to keep the Congress top brass guessing.

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.

With the six rebel MLAs disqualified the strength of the house comes down from 68 to 62 and the halfway mark is 32. With the loss of 6 MLAs the Congress now has 34 MLAs and the BJP with independents has 28. The fortunes of the Congress will now rest on its ability to keep the rest of its flock together.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Shimla:

Some Congress MLAs sold their souls and went against the party ethics to cross-vote in the Rajya Sabha election and they will be made to pay for it by God, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Friday.

“Those who betrayed the party and played with the sentiments of the people of the state won’t be spared even by the Almighty,” said Sukhu addressing a public meeting in Dharampur in the Kasauli Assembly constituency of Solan district.

He said that six rebel MLAs from Congress abstained themselves from the house during the passing of the budget and when a coup was planned to take place by the rival BJP.

Mr Sukhu accused the BJP of being ill-at-ease with his government’s performance in curbing corruption and starting welfare schemes.

“I am here for the people of the state, for the development of my state, I am here for you all and not afraid of the conspiracies being hatched against me,” he said, “I will not allow the wealth of the state to be looted at any cost. My people are my strength and I am bound and committed to serve them until my last breath,” he added.

Mr Sukhu also accused his predecessor and Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur of being power hungry, as he reiterated his claim that his government will complete its five-year tenure.

Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sanjay Awasthi said an attempt was made by a few to destabilise the government with money power, which is against the ethos of democracy and Himachal Pradesh has been put to shame by those few.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Shimla:

Virbhadra Singh, Congress’s tallest leader in Himachal Pradesh and a six-time Chief Minister, breathed his last on July 8, 2021. But the Congress fought the Assembly polls a year a later not in the name of any living leader, but in the name of its dead veteran. There were faultlines, of course. The state Congress was helmed by Virbhadra Singh’s wife Pratibha Singh and leading the party’s campaign committee was Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, a grassroots-level leader and a known critic of the late Chief Minister.

The Congress leadership, however, managed to project a united front and the party won 40 seats out of the 68 in the Assembly, ousting the incumbent BJP.

The bigger challenge, however, was waiting. Pratibha Singh was being seen as a frontrunner for the top post, but the Congress decided to bet on Mr Sukhu. Reluctantly, the mother-son duo of Pratibha Singh and Vikramaditya Singh swallowed defeat. Fourteen months on, as Mr Sukhu fights to save his government after dramatic developments during a Rajya Sabha election, the knives are out. The seeds of discontent sown a year back have borne fruit, with Vikramaditya Singh resigning as minister and accusing the government of Mr Sukhu of disrespecting his father despite the Congress winning the polls in his name.

The Royal Veteran

A scion of the erstwhile royal family of Bushahr, Virbhadra Singh was fondly called Raja Sahib. An alumnus of the prestigious Bishop Cotton School in Shimla and Delhi’s St Stephen’s College, he became a Lok Sabha MP for the first time in 1962. He would get elected to the Lower House of Parliament four more times. Following two stints as a central minister, he became Chief Minister for the first time in 1983. He would go on to occupy the post six times during his long political career. He lost the post in 2017 when the BJP won the state polls and Jairam Thakur took over as the Chief Minister.

Mr Singh’s last years on the political landscape overlapped with Mr Sukhu’s tenure as state Congress chief and there was no love lost between them. So much so that at one point, Mr Singh refused to share stage with Mr Sukhu. The leadership did manage a truce but the acrimony remained.

The Grassroots Leader

The political rise of Mr Sukhu was in stark contrast to that of Mr Singh. Coming from an ordinary family, he started out as an activist of the Congress’s students wing, NSUI. He went on to serve as a councillor in Shimla municipal corporation before being elected to the Assembly for the first time in 2003. A four-time MLA, he took over as state Congress chief in 2019, setting the stage for his rivalry with Virbhadra Singh.

Despite the towering stature of the six-time Chief Minister, Mr Sukhu minced no words in his criticism of the veteran. In fact, in 2019, he hit out at Mr Singh for “blackmailing” the Congress before every election. “Singh considers himself as Congress in Himachal Pradesh. The truth is that time has changed. Congress is strong at the booth level and Singh is not necessary for the Congress to win,” he said.

Congress’s Big Choice

In the aftermath of its 2022 victory, the Congress was faced with a tough choice for the Chief Minister post. It picked Mr Sukhu over Virbhadra Singh’s wife Pratibha or son Vikramaditya Singh. There were reasons for this decision. The BJP’s favourite line of attack on the Grand Old Party is dynasty. In Mr Sukhu, the Congress saw a model party worker who had risen from the grassroots and had administrative experience. Choosing him would blunt the BJP charge, the Congress must have thought. The Congress leader is also known to be close to Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Also, choosing Mr Sukhu helped the Congress put the corruption charges against Virbhadra Singh behind them and closed another line of attack from the BJP.

Another key factor was that the Vibhadra Singh camp did not perform very well in the 2022 polls, depriving them of the political muscle required to clinch the Chief Minister post. 

The Balancing Act

Before the announcement of Mr Sukhu as the high command’s Chief Minister choice, Pratibha Singh was being considered a frontrunner for the top post. When the Congress decided otherwise, it tried a balancing act to prevent a mutiny. The state Congress president post stayed with Pratibha Singh and her son Vikramditya was given a minister’s post. “We accept the decision taken by Congress high command,” she said after the big announcement. Mr Sukhu ruled out any discontent in the Congress ranks following his selection.

A Timely Strike

As the Congress struggled to recover from the Rajya Sabha election stunner pulled off by the BJP, the royals opened up another front. In a press conference this morning, Vikramaditya Singh accused the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government of disrespecting his father and ignoring the voices of MLAs in its 14-month rule. Vikramaditya Singh resigned as minister and said that ball is in the Congress high command’s court. This, after six Congress MLAs cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha election and the BJP claimed that the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government had lost the mandate to stay in power. 

Congress’ Jairam Ramesh has said that the leadership will not shy away from “difficult decisions”. “Individuals are not important, it’s the mandate that we have to respect. All options are open and the party is supreme. We will take whatever decision is required and soon,” he said.

 Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu interacting with the milk producers of the State in Shimla on Sunday.  

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday said the State government was all set to introduce innovative schemes and increase farmers’ incomes in the upcoming annual Budget since agriculture and milk production played a pivotal role in the rural economy.

He was speaking in Shimla during a first of its kind interaction with the State’s milk producers.

Mr. Sukhu said the government was encouraging agriculture as an industry to make farmers self-reliant. “There is a direct relationship between agriculture and milk production, and it becomes necessary to go for natural and organic farming in a big way, thereby linking traditional farming techniques with modern technologies. We intend to bring a revolutionary change in the agriculture sector with a special focus on promoting animal husbandry,” he said.

He said the recent increase of six rupees per litre in the purchase price of milk was indicative of his government’s future course of action in strengthening the dairy sector and ensuring a fixed income for farmers. “Fundamental changes are being made in the policies and rules to ensure that money goes directly to the farmers,” he added.

Pointing out that the government would also consider providing tax concessions to milk producers, he said the quality of milk in the Himalayan region was superior, and efforts were underway to market it, which would increase farmers’ income and generate employment.

To strengthen the State’s milk-based economy, the ‘Him Ganga Yojana’ had been launched with a budgetary provision of ₹500 crore, Mr. Sukhu said.

Shimla:

In a crackdown against timber and fuel wood smuggling in the state, the Himachal Pradesh government Tuesday banned the felling of mango and five other tree species with immediate effect.

A ban has been imposed on the felling of Mango, Triyambal (Ficus species), Toon (Toona ciliata), Padam or Pajja (Prunus cerasus), Ritha (Sapindus mukorossi) and Baan (Quercus leucotrichophora), a statement issued here said.

Announcing the ban, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said there would be a total ban on the export of timber and fuel wood of these six species out of the state.

The move is aimed at curbing illegal trade and preserving the region’s valuable resources, he said.

Chief Minister Sukhu added that under the new regulations, all these six species have been brought under the ten-year felling programme, which mandates that these trees need to survive for at least ten years before they are axed.

Any tree belonging to one of these species can be axed only after permission from the forest department, Mr Sukhu said.

The felling of a maximum of five trees in a year will be allowed for domestic purposes, the statement said.

A revised list of permissible tree species has been notified, allowing only thirteen species to be felled with prior intimation to the Range officer, while felling of other species will also require forest clearances, the statement said.

This step will not only safeguard indigenous species but also play a pivotal role in wildlife preservation, the chief minister said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)