Shimla, June 22
Amidst a heated political landscape, BJP candidate and former Independent MLA Ashish Sharma appeared before the Investigation Officers at Boileauganj police station today to dispose of his statement regarding allegations of influencing the Rajya Sabha election and engaging in horse trading.
Ashish Sharma, who previously represented Hamirpur as an Independent MLA, is accused along with Rakesh Sharma, father of former Congress MLA Chaitanya Sharma, of attempting to sway six Congress MLAs during the Rajya Sabha elections. This case was initiated by complaints from Congress MLAs Sanjay Awasthi and Bhuvnesh Gaur.
Despite receiving anticipatory bail from the Himachal Pradesh High Court, the court mandated that both Ashish and Rakesh Sharma cooperate with the investigation before a decision on their permanent bail can be made. The case has disrupted Sharma’s ongoing election campaign as he prioritizes his legal obligations.
Notably, Ashish Sharma resigned from the assembly on March 22 before joining the BJP, alongside Hoshiyar Singh Chambiyal and KL Thakur, who also voted for BJP candidate Harash Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha election. The BJP required these members to vacate their assembly seats as a condition for joining the party.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has publicly accused the nine MLAs, including the six Congress members and three former independents, of selling their allegiance to the BJP. In response, the accused MLAs have filed a defamation suit against the Chief Minister in the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
The investigation has uncovered incriminating documents indicating that the nine former MLAs stayed in luxury hotels and had their travel expenses covered by intermediaries. These findings are central to the ongoing inquiry, which may influence the court’s decision on the accused duo’s bail status.
The prosecution is expected to challenge the permanent bail requests, arguing that Ashish and Rakesh Sharma have not fully cooperated with the investigation regarding the alleged financial transactions involved in the Rajya Sabha election.
Former independent MLA from Hamirpur appeared before the police in Shimla Boileauganj police station on Saturday in connection with the conspiracy to topple the Himachal Pradesh government. The police interrogated him for about two hours at the police station. Ashish Sharma is accused of conspiring to topple the state government. He made arrangements for the stay of six rebel Congress MLAs in a five-seven star hotel, provided food and drink, and arranged helicopter travel for them. In this case, along with Ashish Sharma, a case has also been registered against the retired IAS officer Rakesh Sharma, father of former Gagret MLA Chaitanya Sharma, in Shimla’s Boileauganj police station on March 10.
Ashish Sharma appeared before the Boileauganj police for the third time today. However, he was also called to Boileauganj on June 13 and 18 but did not come then. In the same case, four days ago, publicity advisor of former Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, Tarun Bhandari, also appeared before the Shimla police.
Ashish Sharma said that today he reached Boileauganj police station and answered every question of the police. He said that 18 days are left for the elections, so he has requested the police to call him after July 10 for whatever questioning is to be done, because this time is precious for them due to the by-elections. Ashish Sharma said that false FIRs are being filed against MLAs in this government. Family and people associated with them are being harassed. The administration is being misused.
At the same time, Ashish Sharma, while countering the allegations of being involved with the mining mafia by the Chief Minister, said that today the biggest mining mafia in the state is CM Sukhu’s brother. As soon as the government was formed, the mining policy was changed to benefit the Chief Minister’s brother. Permission was given to him for captive use, and all the policies were changed to his advantage. Mining is going on day and night in the entire Beas river.
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