Himachal CM hails SC’s decision to stay disqualification of parliamentary secretaries

New Delhi, Nov 22 Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to stay the Himachal Pradesh High Court’s directive to initiate disqualification proceedings against legislators appointed as Chief Parliamentary Secretaries in the state.

He told the media here the Supreme Court has provided clarity on the legal interpretation of the matter, which differed from paragraph 50 of the High Court’s decision.

“The relief granted by the Supreme Court is significant and we will now deliberate on the next steps after considering all legal aspects,” the Chief Minister said.

Responding to another question, Sukhu criticised the Opposition’s behaviour, describing it as “childish” and lacking focus on public issues.

“There are no controversies, but their behaviour is simply childish. Sometimes they talk about toilet tax, sometimes they indulge in ‘samosa politics.’ These are mere distractions,” he said.

He said since the BJP’s “Operation Lotus” was rejected by the people and the Congress successfully retained its strength of 40 seats in the Vidhan Sabha, the Opposition’s personal attacks against him are a deliberate attempt to divert attention from the welfare schemes implemented by the state government over the past two years.

The Chief Minister said the Opposition should act responsibly and raise welfare issues of the common man. He reiterated his government’s commitment to the welfare of the underprivileged and said that significant progress has been made in improving their socio-economic status during this tenure.

A Division Bench of the Himachal Pradesh High Court on November 13 termed the appointment of six chief parliamentary secretaries (CPS) unconstitutional and ordered their immediate removal along with withdrawing all benefits and perks.

A division bench of the High Court headed by Justice Vivek Thakur and Justice Bipin Chander delivered the order on two petitions challenging the appointment of the CPS, including a PIL by Kalpana Devi and by 10 BJP legislators, comprising Sat Pal Satti.

The High Court also set aside the Act under which the appointment of the CPS had been made. The court termed the appointment of the CPS as waste of public funds while ordering the immediate withdrawal of all facilities extended to them.

The six CPS whose appointments were set aside were Kishori Lal (legislator from Baijnath in Kangra), Mohan Lal Brakta (Rohru in Shimla), Ram Kumar (Doon in Solan), Ashish Butail (Palampur in Kangra), Sunder Thakur (Kullu) and Sanjay Awashty (Arki in Solan).

The petitioner BJP leaders contended that the appointment to the CPS posts was a burden on the state exchequer. The government defended the appointments, saying they complied with the provisions of the state Act passed by the Legislative Assembly.