Six Himachal Pradesh Congress legislators, who have been disqualified for defying the party whip on the state budget, along with three Independent MLAs have shifted to a resort in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Uttarakhand, accusing chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu of harassing them, people aware of the matter said on Saturday.

Read here: Himachal crisis: Rebel Congress MLAs camp in resort in Uttarakhand

Two BJP MLAs Rakesh Jamwal, who is also the party’s Himachal Pradesh general secretary, and Jaswan legislator Bikram Singh have accompanied the nine legislators who arrived in Dehradun from Chandigarh by a chartered flight on Friday afternoon and checked into a resort in Singtali, around 35 km from Rishikesh, amid tight security. A security vehicle with Haryana registration number was stationed outside the resort on Saturday, the people added.

“Eleven MLAs from Himachal Pradesh who flew from Chandigarh to Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun in a chartered plane are staying at a resort near Rishikesh. The legislators included six Congress MLAs, three independents and two BJP MLAs,” a BJP functionary said, requesting anonymity.

Congress legislators Sudhir Sharma, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Devinder Kumar Bhuttu, Ravindra Thakur and Chaitanya Sharma had voted against party nominee Abhishek Manu Singhvi in the February 27 Rajya Sabha election, resulting in the victory of BJP’s Harsh Mahajan. They were disqualified from the assembly on February 29 for defying the party whip on the state budget.

Three independent MLAs Hoshyar Singh, KL Thakur and Ashish Sharma accompanying the Congress rebels had also voted in favour of the BJP in the biennial polls. The rebel Congress legislators have approached the Supreme Court challenging their disqualification from the assembly.

“They will stay in Rishikesh until the Supreme Court hear the Speaker’s decision of disqualification,” the BJP functionary added.

Since their disqualification, the rebel MLAs were staying in a Chandigarh hotel amid tight security cover provided by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

“The chief minister knows he does not have the majority. The Congress government and party leaders in Delhi have been forced to think. This government is the most unpopular and inexperienced till date and this situation has been created because of novices,” the rebel Congress MLAs and the three independent legislators said in a joint statement on Saturday.

“If the chief minister has any integrity, he should step down and face the public. Central agencies should investigate and act against those talking about horse-trading,” the statement added.

Dharamshala MLA Sudhir Sharma was removed from the AICC secretary post on March 6, while Sujanpur legislator Rajinder Rana has resigned as state Congress working president.

Though Sukhu has maintained that the doors of the party were open for the six MLAs, the rebels have accused the CM of harassment and pressuring them to return to the Congress.

“A lot of pressure is being put on us. Sometimes the chief minister sends his emissaries, even government officials, and at times our families are being pressurised. So, we thought of moving out of Chandigarh. We will chalk out the course of action after the hearing of our case is fixed in the Supreme Court,” Sharma said.

The rebel MLAs denied that they had been kidnapped. “There has been no kidnapping and everyone is together voluntarily in the interest of the state and the nation,” the statement said, demanding Sukhu’s resignation as CM.

Read here: Himachal CM promises adequate relief package for families being displaced by Gaggal airport expansion

The Congress has been trying to reach out to the rebels to set its house in order in Himachal Pradesh. State’s minister Vikramaditya Singh met the dissidents in Chandigarh twice. “I have conveyed their grouse to the high command. The ball is in its court now,” Vikramaditya, who had quit the Sukhu cabinet on February 29 only to backtrack hours later, said.

Speaking to reporters in Palampur on Friday, Sukhu said: “Through social media, I have come to know that the MLAs were removed from the hotel in Panchkula. A charter plane from Chandigarh flew as family members of the MLAs were putting pressure on them to return…”

Stating that none of the rebel MLAs were in touch with him, the chief minister added: “What kind of democracy is this in which they have been kept under CRPF security? Is this how democracy will remain strong? Horse-trading weakens democracy. We have been serving people. None of the MLAs are in touch with me.”