Shimla, Feb 28
The Congress government in Himachal Pradesh plunged into a major crisis on Wednesday morning after Public Works Department Minister Vikramaditya Singh announced his resignation from the council of ministers. Singh is the son of former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh and Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Pratibha Singh. The High Command had overlooked Pratibha Singh’s claim for the chief minister’s post, choosing Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to helm the government.
Announcing his resignation, Vikramaditya Singh claimed there were “efforts from some quarters attempts to humiliate me in my functioning as a cabinet minister.” “I have always respected the leadership and the Chief Minister and contributed toward running the government with due discipline. I can tell you with 100% conviction that I, as a minister, supported the government with all our strength. I respect the chief minister but there has to be coordination among the Council of Ministers,” Singh told reporters, adding that there was a breach of trust which led to the current crisis. On whether he would continue with the Congress, Singh said he is yet to decide his future course of action. “I will hold due discussions and deliberations with my people, supporters, and well-wishers. After due discussions, we will take the future course of action,” he said. The MLA from Shimla Rural added that he has briefed the Congress High Command regarding the situation. “Now the ball is in the court of the party high command, they have to decide what the future course of action will be. But I have been very clear and very categorical in what I had to say. I am sure that whatever decision will be taken, it will be taken in the larger interest of the organisation, of the party, and the people of this state,” Singh added, Meanwhile, 15 BJP MLAs have been expelled by the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker for misbehaviour.
The MLAs include LoP Jairam Thakur, Vipin Singh Parmar, Randheer Sharma, Lokender Kumar, Vinod Kumar, Hans Raj, Janak Raj, Balbir Verma, Trilok Jamwal, Surender Shori, Deep Raj, Puran Thakur, Inder Singh Gandhi, Dileep Thakur and Inder Singh Gandhi.
Thakur had said on Wednesday morning that they would most likely be suspended. “We are apprehensive that Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania might suspend the BJP MLAs so that the budget can be passed in the Vidhan Sabha,” Thakur told reporters earlier in the morning. He said the Rajya Sabha election had made it clear that the Congress government was in the minority and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
Notices have also been issued to Congress MLAs who voted for the BJP candidate, asking them to explain why action should not be taken against them under the anti-defection law.
MLA leave Haryana
The six Congress MLAs, who voted for the BJP candidate in the Rajya Sabha polls in Himachal Pradesh, on Wednesday left Haryana for an undisclosed location in a chopper.
They include Rajinder Rana and Ravi Thakur, who spent last night in a hotel here and left for Tau Devi Lal Stadium in BJP-ruled Haryana’s Panchkula in the morning. The MLAs had reached Haryana from Shimla on Tuesday after casting their votes in the Rajya Sabha polls. They are learnt to be in touch with the BJP, amid signs of a crisis engulfing the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh.
