No-confidence motion in Himachal defeated with voice vote

Dharamsala, Dec 10 (IANS) The Himachal Pradesh Assembly, on the first day of its Winter session on Friday, rejected the no-confidence motion brought by the main opposition Congress by a voice vote amidst uproarious scenes.

Twenty-two Congress members and the lone CPI-M member contended that the BJP government has lost the moral right to rule after losing all four seats in recent bypolls, including the Mandi parliamentary constituency.

"The government has lost the faith of the people and hence it should resign," said Leader of the Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri, who moved the motion

But in the House, the Congress only had the presence of 19 members.

As the chaos prevailed for half an hour, Speaker Vipin Singh Parmar asked the Opposition members to maintain harmony and adjourned the house for lunch break.

Later, the Opposition joined the House proceedings.

Agnihotri told the media that the Congress wanted to debate on the issues of unemployment, price rise and those related to the employees but the Speaker didn't give them the opportunity.

He said the government has lost the moral right to rule after facing defeat in the by-elections at the hands of the Congress.