Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], August 26 : The Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker on Tuesday rejected a proposed privilege motion against Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, filed by Dharamshala MLA Sudhir Sharma, citing procedural shortcomings.
Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania said he had received only a DO note from Sharma, which did not qualify as a formal notice under assembly rules. "To bring a privilege motion, a notice must be submitted with a reference to the relevant rules, which has not been done," Pathania clarified in the assembly.
Undeterred by the rejection, Sharma announced he would resubmit the notice in the correct format.
"I have no personal fight with the Chief Minister. The issue is that the CM has spoken untruths in the House. In the interest of the unemployed and employees, I am giving this privilege motion against him," said Sudhir Sharma, MLA, Dharamshala.
Speaking to reporters in the Assembly complex, Sharma stressed that this was the first time in Himachal Pradesh's history that a privilege motion had been brought against a sitting Chief Minister.
"This motion is based entirely on facts. The figures I have cited match the data presented in the Assembly itself. The CM has misled the House by changing figures giving one set of data at one time, then altering it later. Why is this happening? Is it due to some administrative lapse, or is the Chief Minister doing this knowingly? These facts are already part of the Assembly's proceedings, not taken from any news clipping. Under the Assembly's provisions, a privilege motion can be moved on such grounds, and I have done so. Now it is under the Speaker's purview, and as the custodian of the House, he will act as he deems fit," Sharma said.
He added that his submission included all relevant documents addressed directly to the Speaker and urged that the motion be accepted and discussed.
Chief Minister Sukhu dismissed the move, alleging it was politically motivated. "The notice has been given only to grab newspaper headlines. There is no truth in it," the CM said.
The privilege motion controversy comes amid an already tense monsoon session, marked by repeated opposition treasury clashes.