Nine Uttarakhand Congress rebel MLAs join BJP

New Delhi: Former Uttarakhand chief minister Vijay Bahuguna formally joins the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), along with eight Congress rebel MLAs, at the party headquarters here on Wednesday evening.

The other eight legislators included Harak Singh Rawat, Amrita Rawat, Shailendra Mohan Singhal, Kunwar Pranb Singh, Subodh Unniyal, Pradeep Batra, Saila Rani Rawat and Umesh Sharma.

Another MLA Rekha Arya, who was also supposed to join the BJP on Wednesday, is visiting the Simhasth Kumbh in Ujjain, but has sent her acceptance to the party.

The nine Congress MLAs had rebelled against the Rawat government on March 18, resulting in a flip-flop in the passage of the Appropriation Bill. They were subsequently expelled by the Uttarakhand assembly Speaker.

As the nine MLAs defected the Congress, the state government slipped into minority and President’s Rule was imposed.

However, the Centre revoked President’s Rule on May 11 after Rawat proved his majority on the floor of the House.

Following his meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi after assuming charges as Uttarakhand Chief Minister again, Harish Rawat on Thursday said the nine expelled Congress rebel were sitting in the lap the BJP with whom the Congress could have no compromise.

“The nine Congress rebel MLAs have sat in the BJP’s lap. They went with the communal forces with whom there can be no compromise,” he said in a strict. (ANI)