India, February 28 (Punjab Khabarnama): Himachal crisis: Congress MLA Vikramaditya Singh on Wednesday announced his resignation from the council of ministers, alleging that the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government “humiliated its own MLAs several times.”
Saying that the “humiliation won’t be tolerated,” Vikramaditya added, “Now the party high command has to decide where Congress is headed next in Himachal. We want that government to be saved, as people voted for it.”
Vikramaditya, the son of senior Congress leader Pratibha Singh and former CM Virbhadra Singh, further said that though they supported the Himachal government led by Sukhu in every possible manner, he was humiliated. “The man who lived for Himachal Virbhadra Singh was humiliated. Is this how much they respect my father?” he said.
“The [state] government failed to find even a small piece of land on Mall Road to install the statue of a person [Virbhadra Singh] who was the CM of Himachal Pradesh six times, because of whom this government was formed,” said Vikramaditya Singh.
“All I would like to say is that under the current circumstances, it is not correct for me to continue as a part of the government. So, I have decided that I am resigning from the Council of Ministers. I am resigning as a minister. In the time to come, I will have video consultations with my people and then decide about the future course of action,” he said. READ: Himachal Assembly speaker suspends 15 BJP MLAs, adjourns House
“For me, the most important thing is the relationship with the people of Himachal Pradesh,” he added.
“But the kind of system prevailing in the government in the last year—how MLAs were overlooked and attempts were made to stifle their voices—this is a result of that,” said Vikramaditya.
This comes after a stunning upset suffered by the ruling Congress in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday, where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the state’s lone Rajya Sabha seat with its candidate Harsh Mahajan, defeating Congress stalwart Abhishek Manu Singhvi and apparently setting the stage for a no-trust motion in the Assembly.
The voting was a tie, with both the Congress and the BJP candidates getting 34 votes, indicating that at least six Congress MLAs voted against the party. The result was then declared on the basis of a draw of lots, officials said.
Hours later, the party’s top leadership swung into action to pacify the disgruntled lawmakers. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge appointed senior leaders Bhupinder Singh Hooda and D K Shivakumar to engage with the six MLAs, who are learnt to be “disappointed” with the working style of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and are seeking his replacement.
There is also a buzz over the BJP bringing a motion of no-confidence in the Assembly against the Congress government in the state.
