It’s not over till it’s over. At least that’s how the Himachal Pradesh situation can be summed up for the Congress government in the state now.
Speaking exclusively to News18, Rani Pratibha Singh, wife of late CM Virbhadra Singh, said: “It’s shameful that we have a government and majority in the state and yet we lost the Rajya Sabha polls. This is why we told the observers who came that the chief minister has no right to continue.”
It’s clearly a battle of nerves now. Singh’s son Vikramaditya Singh, who resigned as a minister and then took back his resignation, met the six disqualified MLAs on Friday. Sources say Vikramaditya spoke to the chief minister, asking him to revoke the disqualification. He was supported by Pratibha Singh who told News18: “It was wrong to disqualify them. They had raised a point and have concerns. The CM never listened to them and that’s why we lost.”
At the meeting of observers, who managed to diffuse the situation, CM Sukhu was accused of running a government through his coterie and not being accessible to the MLAs. While Sukhu did accept some mistakes, it’s difficult for the central leadership to remove him immediately and has thus sought time.
The chief minister has been accused of misgovernance. “It’s not about me. We don’t want anything. But he has disappointed the people of Himachal. There are many youth on strike and fast for months and he has done nothing for them. Nobody talks to them. The electricity board has issues and they say the chief minister doesn’t address them. The statue of Virbhadra-ji was not allowed by the government. These issues have to be sorted out,” said Pratibha Singh.
BJP sources had claimed that 10 Congress MLAs were in touch with them but sources close to the chief minister said they were misled by Vikramaditya who has little support. The six disqualified MLAs met Vikramaditya and asked to be taken back — something that could be considered after much deliberation.
However, it’s not an easy decision to take. The crisis may have been diffused for now but learning from the mistakes of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the top leadership of the Congress knows it’s a pain which can keep surfacing.
At the core of this predicament is the image and perception battle. The central leadership, often considered weak, does not want to look as if it’s buckling under pressure from rebels. This is their time to stand up to ensure the party falls in line.
This apart is the other perception. The Congress had flaunted the choice of Sukhu as someone who came from a humble background — being a bus driver’s son. Also, unlike corruption allegations against Virbhadra Singh’s family, Sukhu has a clean image. The Congress would not want to risk this nor go for Lok Sabha polls with any controversy.
Pratibha Singh says the matter has not ended as “a decision can be taken in a hurry.”
The Sukhu camp is confident that except the six, no other MLAs will turn their back and he has the support of 34 MLAs.
But, as long as the Virbhadra Singh legacy issue is flaunted, the BJP sniffs around and discontent brews, there is no reason for the central Congress leadership to rest easy.
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