Dhumal 'misusing' BJP for personal gains, says Virbhadra

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Sunday lashed out at his predecessor PK Dhumal, saying he was "misusing" BJP for his personal ends.

Talking to reporters at Hamirpur, Singh defended the Governor's move to grant prosecution sanction against Dhumal in the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) land lease case, and said the "Governor did not act in a haste but discharged her duty as constitutional head of the state".

The decision was taken after looking into facts and legal aspects, he added. He said fearing action by court, BJP leaders were raising hue and cry over this issue but it would not help them get out of the case.

Making a strong plea for taking all Congress rebels back in the party, Singh said all dissidents who had quit the party or expelled form the party on one pretext or the other should be taken back.

"When BJP is taking back all its dissidents without any reservation what is the hitch in the Congress party... The ball was now in the court of state party chief Sukhvinder Singh Sukhoo," the Chief Minister said.

Singh claimed that the party was strong and united in the state and confident of winning all the four Lok Sabha seats this time. Lat elections, BJP won three of the four seats.

Lashing out at Dhumal for raising bogey of regionalism and casteism and personally targeting him and his party, Singh said the opposition leader has made the entire BJP captive and that was the reason his party MLAs boycotted the entire budget session of the Vidhan Sabha.

He said he was not against BJP being a major political party in the state, but it must play its role as responsible opposition and take up the issues of public interest.

However, it has failed to do so due to pressure of Dhumal and his family, he alleged.

Ridiculing Dhumal's statement that "all Congress government will be dismissed after Narendra Modi was installed as Prime Minister", Singh said it was expression of arrogance and insult of constitution. People have given mandate to Congress for five years and the present government cannot be dismissed illegally under any circumstances, he said.

Taking a dig at BJP, Singh said, "It has become a one-man party and the entire party is chanting the name of Modi and all other leaders have been marginalised."