Guwahati, July 27: All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of Assam, Jitendra Singh on Wednesday promised strict action against the party MLAs who had cross voted in the recently-concluded presidential elections.
“We are deliberating the matter with the state Congress president who was asked to come over to Delhi. We will identify the MLAs who had cross voted …the number of such legislators vary from four to six. But I can assure you that once they are identified we will take strict action against them as they had not only betrayed the party but also the trust of people in their constituencies who had voted for them,” Singh said while addressing mediapersons in New Delhi.
He however refused to name the suspected MLAs from the party who had voted in favour of the NDA-nominee.
“In regard to identifying the MLAs, we are still having deliberations and the inquiry is still underway…as you know that this was a secret ballot. However, earlier in the Rajya Sabha elections, some MLAs who had carried out activities against the party whip were suspended in a matter of just two hours,” Singh said.
He lamented the fact that such activities play a very demoralising role in regard to the grassroots and booth-level workers
The AICC leader further downplayed the Assam chief minister’s claim that about 15 to 16 MLAs of the Congress had voted in favour of the NDA nominee.
Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah had on Tuesday informed reporters here that he would meet the party high command in New Delhi on Wednesday to present the “facts and findings” in regard to cross voting by Congress legislators in the presidential poll.
“The AICC has taken serious cognizance of the allegations of cross voting by our party MLAs. It has become clear now that six legislators out of 26 MLAs had indulged in cross voting and once they are identified, appropriate action would be taken against them by the party high command,” Borah said.
As many as 22 Opposition legislators in Assam had cross-voted in favour of NDA’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, who secured a landslide victory to become the 15th President of India.
Altogether 124 MLAs of the 126-member Assam Legislative Assembly had exercised their franchise in the Presidential election on July 18, with two legislators from the Badruddin Ajmal-led All India United Democratic Front unable to vote as they were outside the country at that time.