Vikramaditya Singh holds resignation as Sukhu-led Congress struggles to save govt in Himachal Pradesh

Vikramadiyta Singh took back his resignation from the Congress party after being persuaded by CM Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu amid a political turmoil in Himachal Pradesh. 

Here's what senior Congress leader Kaul Singh Thakur said after attending a meeting with party observers (Deepender Hooda, Bhupesh Baghel and DK Shivakumar) in Shimla in view of the ongoing political crisis in Himachal Pradesh. 

Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday said that Congress MLA Vikramaditya Singh has been persuaded to join back the party. The statement was given after a meeting of Congress observers with Sukhu.

Congress party observers Bhupesh Baghel, Bhupinder Singh Hooda and DK Shivakumar along with Congress MP Rajeev Shukla chair a meeting with CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu amidst political turmoil in Himachal Pradesh.

Congress observers Bhupinder Singh Hooda and DK Shivakumar, deployed by party leadership to handle the ongoing political crisis in Himachal Pradesh, arrive in Shimla.

Speaker issues show cause notice against 6 Congress rebels under anti-defection law

On being asked why his resignation is not accepted, Congress leader Vikramaditya Singh said, "It is the Chief Minister's prerogative... I do not take the pressure. I give pressure..."

Congress and Independent MLAs from Himachal Pradesh who cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha election yesterday, arrive in Panchkula, Haryana.

LoP Jairam Thakur said, "The BJP has 25 MLAs. The number increased to 34 after the Rajya Sabha voting. This created a danger for the government... They had to pass the budget somehow otherwise the government would fall. For this, they had to decrease the no. of BJP MLAs. 15 MLAs including me have been suspended... We were suspended to save the Congress government. After our suspension, they passed the budget..."

"The proposal was brought by the Parliamentary affairs minister. Because what happened yesterday was unexpected... The BJP members were not in their seats... They started raising slogans after the House was adjourned... They were trying to create an atmosphere where they could attack me... I requested them to sit but they didn't listen... Everything is on record...": Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania 

Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said "One of the MLAs (who voted for BJP candidate in RS polls) has said to forgive him as he has betrayed the party...People of the state will give them an answer... I have spoken with Vikramaditya Singh and he is my younger brother. There is no reason to accept his resignation. He has some grievances that will be solved. We've brought disqualification motion against them (Congress MLAs who voted for BJP candidate in RS polls) and hearing for the same is underway. The budget was passed today and the conspiracy to topple our govt has been foiled and our govt will complete 5 years..."

Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania said, "The hearing is underway... The 6 members have filed a petition. When the petition came to me, then I, as a Speaker have to function like a Tribunal... The hearing was underway till 2 pm... The hearing will continue again at 4 pm..."

There will be a hearing before the Speaker at 4 pm in the matter of membership of 6 rebel MLAs of Himachal Congress for cross-voting in Rajya Sabha elections.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi lambasted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying the saffron party wants to crush the rights of the people of Himachal by misusing the money power and power of probe agencies.

"In democracy, the general public has the right to choose the government of their choice. The people of Himachal used this right and formed the Congress government with a clear majority. But BJP wants to crush this right of the people of Himachal by misusing the money power, power of agencies and power of the Centre. The way the BJP is using government security and machinery for this purpose is unprecedented in the history of the country. If a party with 25 MLAs is challenging the majority of 43 MLAs, then it clearly means that it is dependent on horse-trading of representatives. This attitude of theirs is unethical and unconstitutional. The people of Himachal and the country are watching everything. The BJP, which did not stand with the people of the state during the natural disaster, now wants to push the state into political crisis," she posted on X.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has spoken to party observers, asking them to speak to all MLAs and submit a comprehensive report on the Himachal Pradesh crisis, said Congress leader Jairam Ramesh.

Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications Jairam Ramesh said a report would be presented to the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, by the observers at the earliest, after listening to everyone and based on that, further steps would be taken.

"Maybe some harsh decisions will have to be made but we won't shy away from that. The organisation is supreme. Congress party is supreme," he asserted.

Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications Jairam Ramesh slammed the BJP, saying 'Operation Lotus' is on in Himachal Pradesh.

"Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and our incharge Rajeev Shukla are there. They have spoken with the Congress president. He has told them to meet and listen to all MLAs about their grievances and demands. Cross-voting took place. But the conspiracy to topple the Congress government...what steps are to be taken by the party to tackle this 'Operation Lotus' - Congress president has told these senior colleagues to meet everyone and listen to what they have to say and present him a report at the earliest," said Ramesh.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu refuted resignation speculations, saying his government will complete 5-year term.

Himachal Pradesh LoP Jairam Thakur said, "We went to meet the Governor in the morning today and I said that since Congress does not have the majority to pass the Budget in the Assembly, the Speaker will suspend BJP MLAs. Today, as soon we entered the Assembly, 15 BJP MLAs were suspended and were taken out of the Assembly by the marshals. This is highly condemnable..."

Union Minister Anurag Thakur targeted Congress over Himachal political crisis, saying the people of the state were not ready to accept an outsider as their representative to Rajya Sabha.

"No matter how much injustice they (Congress) do, it is of no use. One thing is clear, the people of Himachal were not ready to accept an outsider as the Rajya Sabha candidate of Congress, even their own MLAs were not ready to accept this. They used the moment to show their anger... What the Speaker did was inappropriate...if they don't have numbers, they themselves gave the first example of it," he added.

Pratibha Singh and Mukesh Agnihotri are the top contenders for the CM post, said the sources, adding Singh's camp has the support of 20 MLas.

Karnataka Deputy CM and Congress observer for Himachal crisis D Shivakumar said he was confident that all his party's legislators would remain loyal.

According to the sources, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu offered his resignation to the high command ahead of his meeting with the party's central observers. Pratibha Singh is back in chief minister race, they added.

Vikramaditya Singh showed his ethics by resigning from his ministerial post, said BJP leader Harsh Mahajan amid the political crisis in Himachal Pradesh.

Himachal Pradesh Assembly witnessed utter chaos during the Budget Session. The Speaker ordered Marshals to forcefully oust the 15 BJP legislators out of the house. Opposition MLAs, including Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur were pushed outside the House, claimed the BJP leaders.

According to the sources, the Congress high command asked Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to resign amid a revolt by party MLAs against him.

Six Congress MLAs - Inderjit Lakhanpal, Chaitanya Sharma, Sudhir Sharma, Rajendra Rana, Devendra Singh Bhutto, and Ravi Thakur who cross-voted and three Independent legislators - Ashish Sharma, KL Thakur and Hoshiar Singh, all these 9 MLAs were missing from Himachal Pradesh Assembly. The sources said all these MLAs are preparing to leave the state.

Congress MLA Vikramaditya Singh broke into tears while speaking on how his government has ignored his request to build a statue of his father Virbhadra Singh.

"...Someone who was the CM of the state for 6 times, due to whom this Government was formed in the state - they could not find a small space for his statue at Mall Road. This is the respect this Government has shown to my late father. We are emotional people, we have nothing to do with posts...But this is very unfortunate...I am very hurt, not politically but emotionally," emotional Singh said.

On cross-voting in the Himachal Pradesh Rajya Sabha election, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said ever since the BJP came to power, the a misuse of money and machinery.

"Ever since the BJP came to power, the misuse of money and machinery...agencies are questioning as if it is their frontal organisation. Due to all this, cross-voting has begun and the switching of parties has started. This is nothing new. It is unfortunate that we could not make a renowned candidate Abhishek Singhvi win the election, we are disheartened. Two of our senior leaders have gone there, I am confident that they will probe the situation and get all the reports on the spot and give it to the high command," added.