"Congress battling with inner differences": Amit Shah on cross-voting in Himachal Pradesh RS polls
Feb 27, 2024
New Delhi [India], February 27 : Following the cross-voting by nine MLAs in the Rajya Sabha polls in Himachal Pradesh, leading to the defeat of the Congress candidate, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the grand old party is battling with its 'inner differences' and that the party lost due to its 'inability' to keep its leaders united.
Shah was speaking at the TV9 Bharatvarsh Conclave here in the national capital.
"There is no strategy in that. The truth is that Congress is scattered. The INDIA bloc is scattered. They cannot even keep their leaders united. I do not think that the opposition has so much to do with it. It is because of their inability to keep their leaders united," Amit Shah said.
Responding to the allegations made by Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu that the CRPF and Haryana Police convoy took away five to six Congress MLAs amid the counting process, the Union Home Minister said, "The voting took place inside the assembly. The assembly is underway. How is it possible to abduct someone. What a childish thing to say! They do not talk about how their MLAs left them."
In a big setback for the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh, party's nominee for Rajya Sabha polls, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, lost the poll as "nine MLAs including six from the party cross-voted".
Meanwhile, the Union Home Minister also spoke about Janata Dal-United (JDU) Chief Nitish Kumar, who recently switched back to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and took oath as the CM for the ninth time since 2005.
"You have to ask Nitishji why he joined hands with the NDA. My party is very firm in its agenda and principles. Those who believe in the leadership of PM Modi are welcome," he said.
Nitish Kumar had reportedly gone into a sulk after not being named the convenor of INDIA, the opposition bloc that took shape through his efforts. He resigned as chief minister on January 28, his second volte face in less than 18 months.
The NDA, led by CM Nitish Kumar, later won the floor test after comfortably securing the votes of 129 MLAs who voted in its favour.
In reaction to the opposition's claims that the ruling BJP has made 'Bharat Ratna' a 'deal, Shah said, "This is not the Congress party, which will only honour its family members. It is the Bharatiya Janata Party, which will honour those who contributed to the country. Tell me what we gained after announcing Bharat Ratna for Narsimha Raoji and Tarun Gogoiji."
