Chandigarh | The Congress on Tuesday said it will issue show-cause notices to MLAs who allegedly cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha elections in Haryana, warning of strict disciplinary action.
"We are going to issue a show-cause notice to them," Congress general secretary in charge of Haryana, B K Hariprasad, told PTI over the phone.
State Congress chief Rao Narender Singh warned that those who "betrayed" the party will face strict action.
Amid the developments, Haryana Congress Working President Ram Kishan Gujjar resigned from the party.
In his letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Gujjar -- one of the three working presidents of the state unit of the Congress -- said he was stepping down from primary membership and all posts. However, no reason was cited in the letter.
Gujjar's wife is a Congress legislator in Haryana.
Polling for two Rajya Sabha seats was held here on Monday. BJP's Sanjay Bhatia won one seat comfortably, while Congress candidate Karamvir Singh Boudh secured the other in a close contest against Independent candidate Satish Nandal.
Boudh's victory by a narrow margin came amid allegations that five Congress candidates allegedly cross-voted. Of the five votes declared invalid by the Returning Officer, four were reportedly cast by Congress legislators.
Speaking to reporters here on Tuesday, former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the Congress has identified those who cross-voted in Monday's Rajya Sabha polls and the high command has been apprised, adding that action will be taken against them.
"The MLAs did not betray the party or me, but the people who elected them," Hooda, who is Leader of the Opposition in the Haryana Assembly, said.
Hooda declined to reveal their names but said, "Everyone knows who they are... Such individuals will be taught a lesson not only by the party but also by the people of their respective constituencies."
Ahead of the polls, Congress MLAs were shifted to Himachal Pradesh to prevent defections and returned to Chandigarh on Monday morning to cast their votes.
While the party celebrated winning one seat, the cross-voting episode exposed internal rifts within the party's Haryana unit, which has long been plagued by factionalism.
Despite having adequate numbers, failure to secure the one seat that the Congress eventually won would have dealt a major blow to the party in Haryana and to its veteran leader Hooda, who was at the forefront of keeping the flock together.
A repeat of history was something the opposition party could ill afford in the state, where it has been out of power since 2014.
In the 2022 Rajya Sabha polls, its candidate Ajay Maken lost to the BJP-JJP-backed Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma despite having the required strength of 31 votes. The then Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi -- now with the BJP -- cross-voted while another vote was declared invalid.
In 2016, the votes of 14 Congress MLAs were declared invalid, leading to the loss of a party-backed Independent candidate who was otherwise expected to win.
Targeting the BJP, Hooda said, "They tried all tactics. But Congress passed the 'Agni Pariksha' (by winning one seat)."
"From the beginning, one seat each belonged to the Congress and the BJP. But they (BJP) tried to steal votes for the third candidate," Hooda said, referring to Nandal, who was backed by the BJP.
Hooda alleged the BJP continued to indulge in "vote theft", saying the development vindicates allegations made earlier by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
"The BJP has misused its power and authority in the Rajya Sabha election. The fact that Nandal, the Haryana BJP's vice president, entered the contest despite lacking the required numbers shows the party has no faith in democracy or the public mandate. It seeks to secure victory solely through manipulative tactics," he said.
"The government machinery was grossly misused. Four valid votes cast by Congress legislators were arbitrarily invalidated, despite having been accepted multiple times by the Returning Officer," he claimed.
Taking strong exception to the Congress leader's allegations, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said the claims were completely baseless and unfortunate.
"Such allegations are misleading and irresponsible," Saini said in the State Assembly on Tuesday.
