Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, citing Supreme Court verdicts, has written to the Speaker of the HP Assembly, urging the acceptance of the resignations of three Independent Legislators, Hoshiyar Singh, KL Thakur and Ashish Sharma.
Though acknowledging that the Raj Bhawan lacks authority in this matter, Shukla stated that he acted merely as a messenger by forwarding the letters to the Speaker of Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly, Kuldeep Singh Pathania.
The Governor emphasized that his role was limited and highlighted previous Supreme Court decisions, including those regarding Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, which support the requirement for the Speaker to accept resignations.
"I have written a letter to the speaker Quoting the supreme court's order that the speaker has to accept the resignation. The Supreme court has earlier given the same decision on the matter of Karnataka another matter of Shivraj Singh vs Speaker Madhya Pradesh Assembly" said the Governor.
"I got to know that the speaker has called all three members for the same. I can't disclose the contents of the communication between Raj Bhawan and Assembly. The order says that if the member resigns in physical presence, then it is clear and defined what will be the act of the Speaker," Shukla added further.
"After giving letters to the Secretary, all 3 legislators came to accord me the letter as well, I took their letters and sent them to the Speaker of the Assembly. They wanted me to intervene, but on this matter 'Raj Bhavan' could not intervene at all. The decision will be taken by the Speaker only," he said.
On March 22, three independent MLAs, namely Hoshiyar Singh from the Dehra Assembly constituency, KL Thakur from Nalagarh Assembly constituency, and Ashish Sharma from Hamirpur Assembly constituency, tendered their resignations. However, the Speaker has not yet accepted their resignations. (ANI)
