Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 1: Though the Himachal Pradesh state Assembly speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania has managed to stall the immediate threat to the Congress government in the state, the crisis facing the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government seems to be far from being over.
Besides that the family of the six-time former chief minister and the tallest Congress leader Virbhadra Singh, are behind the six rebel members whose cross-voting in Tuesday’s Rajya Sabha elections in favour of the BJP nominee threatened an immediate collapse of the Sukhu ministry, more Congress members are believed to be in touch with the BJP to nullify the expulsion of the rebel members and bring down the Congress government.
The public works minister Vikramaditya Singh, the son of late Mr Virbhadra Singh, who on Wednesday resigned from the cabinet before he was pacified by the high command observers and agreed not to press for his resignation, is believed to be in constant touch with the rebel members.
Mr Singh did not cross-vote but his emotional outburst on the day, in which he accused the Congress of disrespecting the memory of his father, was an added challenge for the party as it fought off rival BJP’s attacks.
Himachal’s Urban Development Minister is in Delhi for two days to meet the Union Road and Transport Ministry. Sources said he met the rebel MLAs who were moved back to Panchkula in BJP-controlled Haryana on Friday morning. The six MLAs have challenged the speaker’s decision disqualifying them as members with immediate effect for violating the party’s whip in voting for the state budget, in the Himachal Pradesh High Court. He is likely to meet the MLAs again on Sunday, on his way back to Shimla, sources said. Sources also said at least two other Himachal Pradesh Congress MLAs have also met the rebels and are believed to be ready to help the BJP to pull down the Sukhu government.
Even the comments made by the state Congress president Pratibha Singh, the mother of Vikramaditya Singh, clearly show that there sympathies lie with the rebels against the chief minister. After the Congress victory in the Himachal elections last year securing 40 seats in the 68-member state Assembly, Ms Pratibha Singh had emerged as a contender for the post but the high command sprang a surprise by deciding in favour of Mr Sukhu for the coveted post.
Ms Singh’s comments including saying “… it is true that the BJP’s (government) is working better than ours” – clearly suggest the Congress’ Himachal problems are not yet over. She said she has “no idea” of her son’s schedule. “He was here till last night. What he did after… I don’t know.”
Amid speculation the Singh family is biding time before it challenges the Congress’ chief ministerial pick, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, for control of the state government, Ms Singh also said she would meet the party’s behind-the-scenes boss – Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi – to “keep them informed.” “Definitely. They are our high command and we have to go and apprise them… that this is the situation now in Himachal Pradesh and (they can) tell us what to do,” she said.
The hill state has been a bastion for the BJP since Prime Minister Narendra Modi led his party to power at the centre, the BJP having won all the four seats in the state in both the 2014 and 2019 elections.
“From Day 1 I have been telling the Chief Minister that we can only face upcoming elections if he strengthens the organisation. This is a very tough situation for us… we can see a lot of difficulties on the ground (and) as per directions of PM Modi, BJP is going to do a lot of things,” she said.
“We are on weak footing… I have urged him again and again. This is a difficult time, but still we have to contest elections and win,” Ms Singh, who also showed sympathy for the cross-voting MLAs, said.
On Wednesday, as the Congress dealt with the challenge of cross-voting MLAs, Vikramaditya Singh had announced his resignation. He accused the Chief Minister of “negligence” towards his lawmakers and broke down as he accused the party of not allotting land for a statue of his father.
The speaker before adjourning the state Assembly sine die on Wednesday after getting the budget passed by a voice vote, has not only ordered disqualification of the six rebel Congress MLAs, but had also expelled 15 BJP members, including the leader of the opposition Jairam Thakur, for disrupting the proceedings of the House. The BJP must also now contest the expulsion of its MLAs before it can mount another attack on its rival.
For its part, the Congress has declared itself ‘safe’ for now after its top trouble-shooter, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, was rushed in.
He met both Vikramaditya Singh and Pratibha Singh in Shimla Thursday evening, after which he told reporters, “All is well. This government will stay for five years. All issues have been sorted out…”
