The Haryana Congress on Thursday suspended five of its MLAs from the party’s primary membership with immediate effect over alleged cross-voting during last month’s Rajya Sabha elections.
The party had earlier identified Naraingarh MLA Shalli Chaudhary, Sadhaura MLA Renu Bala, Punhana MLA Mohammad Illyas, Hathin MLA Mohammad Israil and Ratia MLA Jarnail Singh for allegedly going against the party’s official line during the polls.
Haryana Congress chief Rao Narender Singh said the party took serious note of the violation of organisational discipline. He said the five MLAs were suspended for anti-party activities. He added that the action was taken following the recommendation of the State Disciplinary Committee and after approval from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
The Haryana Congress Disciplinary Action Committee (DAC) had recently recommended suspension of the five legislators after reviewing the matter.
As per an official party statement, Singh said the MLAs displayed serious indiscipline by allegedly voting against the party’s official candidate during the Rajya Sabha polls, which goes against organisational norms. He further said discipline remains paramount within the party and that indiscipline at any level will not be tolerated.
Singh also said the decision sends a clear message to party leaders and workers that actions against collective decisions and authorised positions will invite strict disciplinary action.
Earlier, DAC chairman Dharampal Malik said the committee had prepared a detailed report and forwarded its recommendation to the party leadership regarding the alleged cross-voting in favour of BJP-backed Independent candidate Satish Nandal. The panel had formally recommended suspension of the MLAs after examining the issue.
The DAC also reviewed replies submitted by the legislators in response to show-cause notices issued to them. Polling for two Rajya Sabha seats in Haryana was held on March 16.
BJP candidate Sanjay Bhatia won one seat comfortably, while Congress candidate Karamvir Singh Boudh secured the second seat after a close contest with Independent candidate Satish Nandal.
The alleged cross-voting by five Congress MLAs weakened the party’s otherwise strong position. Four Congress votes were also declared invalid during the counting process.
Earlier, the Congress had issued show-cause notices to the five MLAs for alleged anti-party activities, accusing them of deliberately not voting for the party’s official candidate.
Among the five MLAs, Shalli Chaudhary, Renu Bala and Jarnail Singh responded to the notice and denied the allegations. They claimed their names were unnecessarily dragged into the controversy and maintained that they had voted for the Congress candidate.
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