Amid the ongoing political crisis in Himachal Pradesh, state Congress president Pratibha Singh on Friday undermined party observer DK Shivakumar’s statement about Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, stating that “it is the people of the state who will decide the fate of the government”.
Congress leader and Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar has said the Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu-led Himachal Pradesh state government will stay and all the MLAs want the Congress government for five years.
However, Pratibha Singh’s comment has revealed that the party’s state unit and its observers are not on the same page on the issue. Reacting to Shivakumar’s statement, Pratibha Singh was quoted by ANI as saying, “Observer ke bolne se kya hota hai’, it is the people who will decide what will happen in the future.”
Mentioning her loyalty to the Congress party, Pratibha Singh noted, “I have spent my entire life in the Congress party. We started from the Congress party.”
“We affiliate with the Congress ideology. I can’t say what can happen tomorrow,” she added, hinting at another trouble for the party after the resignation of Vikramaditya Singh from the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu cabinet.
Interestingly, Pratibha Singh recently applauded the activities of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and said the Congress was on a weak footing. She also called out the Himachal CM for not listening to her advice to organise the party to regain strength in the state.
“From day 1, I had been telling the CM that we would be able to face the upcoming elections only if he strengthens the organisation. This is a very tough situation for us. We can see a lot of difficulties on the ground. As per the directions of PM Narendra Modi, the BJP is going to do a lot of things…We are on weak footing there. I urged him (CM) again and again that we need to strengthen and the party needs to be organised…I can say that it is a difficult time. Still, we have to contest elections and win,” she told ANI.
Himachal Pradesh political crisis
The Congress-led Himachal Pradesh government suffered a major setback after losing the Rajya Sabha elections because of cross-voting to the BJP. The grand old party lost the lone seat of the state in the Upper House of Parliament after its six MLAs cross-voted for the BJP. Moreover, Congress senior leader and minister Vikramaditya Singh announced his resignation from the cabinet.
The development prompted the Congress party to send former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar to the hill state to resolve the crisis.
With the disqualification of the six Congress rebel MLAs, the strength of the House has reduced from 68 to 62. The halfway mark is now 32. The Congress now has 34 MLAs and the BJP has a total of 28 MLAs, including independents. The fortunes of the grand old party rely on its ability to keep the rest of its party MLAs together.
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Published: 01 Mar 2024, 07:12 PM IST