BJP leaders ask Anil to quit party on moral grounds
SHIMLA:: A day after he quit the Himachal Pradesh cabinet, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday mounted pressure on Anil Sharma to resign from the party and the legislative assembly on “moral grounds”.
“If there is an iota of morality left in Anil Sharma, he should immediately resign from the party and the assembly,” said state BJP general secretary Chander Mohan Thakur.
“One cannot be a half Congressman and half BJP man,” Thakur told reporters in Shimla.
“Anil Sharma should decide if he wants to be with the BJP or the Congress,” said state BJP vicepresident Ganesh Dutt. “It is not possible that that the son contests election on Congress ticket and father remains a BJP MLA,” said Ganesh Dutt , adding that Anil Sharma was elected on the BJP ticket from Mandi in 2017 assembly elections. “He has betrayed the voters,” Dutt said.
Anil Sharma’s father Sukh Ram and son Aashray Sharma had recently joined the Congress. Later, the Congress fielded Aashray as its Lok Sabha candidate from Mandi.
Thakur said Anil Sharma would have to campaign for the BJP candidate in Mandi if he remained in the party.
“If Anil Sharma is so confidante about his popularity, he should resign from the legislative assembly and seek fresh election from Mandi,” said Thakur.
Meanwhile, chief minister Jai Ram Thakur on Saturday forwarded the resignation letter of Anil Sharma to governor Acharya Dev Vrat. The governor has accepted the resignation.
SATTI ACCUSES ANIL OF VIOLATING PRINCIPLES OF THE PARTY
State party chief Satpal Singh Satti lashed out at former state power minister Anil Sharma accusing him of violating the principles of the party by giving statements against BJP candidates in fray for the Lok Sabha election.
Satti said Anil Sharma has hurt the sentiments of party workers by violating the principle of ‘Nation First, Party Next, Self Last’.
He said, “He has no right to stay in the BJP and should resign from the membership of the party on moral grounds.”
Satti added that Sharma should also resign as the MLA, which he was chosen because of the BJP.The people of Mandi had chosen Anil as their MLA because they trusted the BJP. He was given the charge of power minister by the chief minister as a gesture of love towards the people of Mandi but Anil has betrayed the people by involving himself in nepotism.
Satti also accused former telecom minister Sukh Ram’s family of being opportunists and using politics for their own benefits.