In mounting troubles for the Congress after the Lok Sabha debacle, two-thirds of its 18 MLAs in Telangana Thursday deserted the party and joined the ruling TRS while a defiant Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu fired a fresh salvo at Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and skipped a key Cabinet meeting.
As many as 12 of the 18 Congress MLAs were recognised as members of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi(TRS) by Assembly Speaker P Srinivas Reddy on Thursday night, just hours after they moved him seeking merger of their group with the ruling party.
The Congress termed the developments in Telangana as "daylight murder of democracy".
In Punjab, Sidhu, who is at loggerheads with Amarinder Singh, was divested of the crucial Local Government department and was given the Power and New and Renewable Energy Sources portfolio in a cabinet reshuffle. Sidhu was also stripped of culture and tourism portfolios.
Capping a day of fast paced political developments in Hyderabad, Speaker Reddy acceded to the request of the 12 MLAs considering the fact they constituted two-thirds of the Congress Legislature Party(CLP), a requirement for merger under the anti-defection law.
A bulletin from the Telangana assembly Thursday night said seats had been allotted to the 12 MLAs along with the members of the TRS Legislature Party in the House.
Unless the merger is reversed, the Congress is set to lose its Opposition Party status in the assembly as its strength has come down to six.
The Speaker's decision came after the embattled Congress cried foul, accusing the TRS of purchasing its MLAs and announcing its decision to move the court Friday.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said this is not a healthy practice for India and it amounted to butchering of people's mandate, which people will never forgive.
"The way the people's mandate and democratic norms are being butchered, this is something which India should not get used to. Indians should not get used to this kind of day-light murder of democracy," he told reporters in Delhi.
The setback to the Congress in Telangana comes at a time when the party has been on the backfoot in several states including Rajasthan and Karnataka following dissidence among its ranks after the Lok Sabha elections drubbing.
With barely few months left for Haryana Assembly polls, a rift within the state unit of the Congress also came to the fore as some MLAs loyal to former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda trained their guns at state chief Ashok Tanwar for the poor showing in the state in the parliamentary elections.
Under fire from Amarinder Singh who blamed him for the party's poor performance in urban areas in Punjab during the Lok Sabha polls, Sidhu stayed away from the cabinet meeting and said he cannot be taken for granted as he had been a performer throughout.
The first cabinet meeting after the recently held elections was chaired by Amarinder Singh.
Asserting that his local government department was singled out publicly, Sidhu said he would defend his name, credibility and performance fiercely.
I cannot be taken for granted. With utter humility I will say that I have been a performer throughout in my life, be it international cricket, or world class commentary with Geoffrey Boycott, TV shows going superhit or 1,300 motivational talks, Sidhu told a select media briefing in Chandigarh.
The cricketer-turned-politician further lamented that his department was singled out while reiterating that it was always a collective responsibility.
Referring to past cabinet meetings, Sidhu said his chair may be three inches away from CM's chair but it seems I am too far from him and (Amarinder) lacks faith in me".
In Hyderabad, the developments unfolded with the 12 Congress MLAs meeting Speaker Reddy and giving him a representation for merger of their group after Rohith Reddy, representing Tandur constituency, became the 12th Congress legislator to jump the ship.
In what appears to be a calculated move, the decision of Rohit Reddy to desert the party came a day after the Congress strength in the assembly came down to 18 following the resignation of state party chief Uttam Kumar Reddy as MLA on his election to the Lok Sabha.
Rohith Reddy's decision boosted the strength of the defectors to the two-third figure, thus insulating them from any possible action under the anti-defection law or the 10th Schedule of the Constitution.
Since early March, as many as 11 Congress MLAs had switched loyalties though officially they did not resign.
"...the Speaker has taken note that the said 12 members of the Congress Legislature Party who constitute two thirds of its total members in the Telangana Legislative Assembly are deemed to have been merged with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi Legislature Party in Telangana Legislative Assembly in terms of paragraph 4 of the 10th schedule to the Constitution of India.
"Accordingly seats are allotted to them along with members of Telangana Rastra Samithi Legislature Party in the house, the assembly bulletin said.
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