Even as the Himachal Pradesh Assembly resumed its proceedings today, the five suspended Congress MLAs, including Leader of Opposition (LOP) Mukesh Agnihotri, sat on ‘dharna’ outside the main gate of the Assembly in protest against the Jai Ram Thakur-led BJP government’s alleged undemocratic conduct, vendetta and conspiracy.

On the first day of the budget session of the state Assembly on 26 February, the Governor, Bandaru Dattatreya, was gheraoed by the Congress MLAs outside the Speaker’s gate after the House was adjourned.

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In an unprecedented turn of events in the Assembly then, five Congress legislators, including LOP Agnihotri, were suspended for the entire session till 20 March for allegedly blocking the passage of the Governor, misbehaving with him and jostling his security staff.

“We will fight it out politically now,” declared Agnihotri today, as he termed the 26 February incident of gheraoing and jostling the Governor in the Assembly premises a “preplanned conspiracy” by Chief Minister Thakur. Agnihortri told media persons that the CM was its alleged “mastermind”.

Agnihotri, who sat on a mat outside the Assembly gate with four other suspended MLAs, including Harshvarshan Chauhan, Satpal Singh Raizada, Sunder Thakur and Vinay Kumar, in protest, said the winter session of the Assembly was not held. “This time when the all-party meeting was held, the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) was not informed that the Governor will not read out the full address,” he said.

The LOP said the Congress members were surprised when they saw the Governor completing his address on the first day of the budget session so early. He said the Congress members were not invited to the tea with the Governor in the Assembly after his address.

“More so, when the Congress members wanted to meet the Governor after adjournment of the House after his short address, they were not allowed. We sat outside the Speaker’s gate and were talking about our issues of price rise, unemployment, irregularities in recruitments and farmers agitation. But the government did not have the courtesy to call us inside. They themselves created ruckus there,” he said.

Agnihotri said the Congress members were not informed on time when the House was recalled.

“The government does not have the guts to face the Assembly so the Opposition party members are being suspended,” he charged.

The LOP also said the Thakur government has registered FIR against Congress members for the incident. “In reality the ministers, who jostled Congress MLAs outside Speaker’s gate, should face the FIR,” he said. He charged that the state government was giving protection to “gundagardi”.