Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania has accepted the resignation of three independent MLAs Hoshiar Singh, Ashish Sharma and KL Thakur.
All three independent MLAs resigned from the membership of the Assembly on March 22 and joined the BJP on March 23.
Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania while addressing a presser in Shimla on Monday said that the resignations of the three MLAs have been accepted and a notification in this regard will be issued in coming days.
“Lok Sabha elections were going on in between. An inquiry has been done in the matter and I have accepted the resignation of all three independent MLAs. Now all three are no longer members of the Assembly,"Pathania said.
The three independent MLAs along with three Congress MLAs had voted in favor of BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha election earlier this year. On March 22, the independent MLAs resigned and joined the BJP. But Himachal Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania did not accept the resignation of these MLAs and sent them a show cause notice. When their resignation was not accepted, the MLAs approached the High Court in this regard. The case is still going on in the High Court.
Speaker Kuldeep Pathania had given his reasoning for not accepting the resignation of the independent MLAs. He had alleged that these independent MLAs had joined the BJP on 23 March without their resignations being accepted and according to the assembly rules, they cannot do so.
The acceptance of the independent MLAs's resignation has paved the way for by-election on the said seats.
