Haryana Congress Disciplinary Committee Hears MLAs in Cross-Voting Probe
In Chandigarh, two of the five Congress MLAs facing allegations of cross-voting in the recent Rajya Sabha elections made a final plea of innocence before the disciplinary committee of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee on Friday. The committee, led by Dharampal Malik, conducted a hearing that lasted over two hours, ultimately deferring the decision to the Congress high command for further action.
Committee Proceedings and MLA Responses
Dharampal Malik confirmed that the committee will submit its report to AICC general secretary and Haryana in-charge B K Hariprasad on Saturday. "As we began deliberations on the issue, the two women MLAs who had been served notices sought a hearing. They were given the opportunity to present their case and were confronted with the allegations against them. We will now finalise the report and submit it to the high command, which will take the final call," Malik stated.
The committee had issued show-cause notices to five MLAs: Jarnail Singh, Shalley Chaudhary, Renu Bala, Mohammad Iliyas, and Mohammad Israil. According to Malik, Iliyas and Israil did not respond to the notices, a move interpreted as an indirect admission of guilt. The remaining three MLAs submitted their replies, which have been officially recorded.
Background of the Allegations
The controversy stems from the Rajya Sabha elections held on March 16, where three candidates were in contention: Congress candidate Karamveer Baudh, BJP candidate Sanjay Bhatia, and independent candidate Satish Nandal, who was supported by independent and BJP MLAs. During the voting, five Congress MLAs are accused of cross-voting in favor of Nandal, and four votes were declared invalid. Despite this, Sanjay Bhatia and Karamveer Baudh were elected as Rajya Sabha MPs.
Since the incident, the five Congress MLAs have been under scrutiny, with the party challenging the validity of the declared invalid votes.
MLA Statements and Committee Composition
Speaking to media at the Congress office, MLAs Shalley Chaudhary and Renu Bala reiterated their innocence, asserting that they voted for Congress candidate Karamveer Baudh and were falsely implicated by the committee and certain party leaders. Similarly, Jarnail Singh denied any cross-voting in his official reply.
The disciplinary committee, besides Malik, included members such as Rohit Jain, former MP Kaiasho Saini, former MLA Anil Dhantori, and sitting MLA Akaram Khan. The meeting commenced at approximately 4 PM and concluded at 5:30 PM, marking a critical step in the internal investigation.
