Vikramaditya meets rebel MLAs, sparks unease in Congress camp
“Vikramaditya met us in Panchkula and that is all that I can say,” said a rebel lawmaker over the phone even as the minister was unavailable for comments
A day after chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu appeared to have staved off a crisis his government faced, public works minister Vikramaditya Singh on Friday met six rebel Congress lawmakers in Panchkula creating a ripple of unease within the state unit of the party.
Singh was expected to travel to Delhi to meet Union minister Nitin Gadkari as per his official schedule.
“Vikramaditya met us in Panchkula and that is all that I can say,” said a rebel lawmaker over the phone even as the minister was unavailable for comments.
It was not immediately clear what transpired at the meeting. The Congress announced a co-ordination committee to iron out differences between the party and the government at a joint press conference by Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, Sukhu and Himachal Congress unit chief Pratibha Singh. The state chief has been vocal in criticism against her party.
Shivakumar, Congress’s chief troubleshooter who was rushed to Shimla as an observer to defuse the crisis, on Thursday said he spoke with all the lawmakers, Sukhu and the state unit chief. He added that all differences were sorted out. He met 32 lawmakers along with former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
Himachal assembly speaker Kuldeep Pathania disqualified the six rebel Congress MLAs who cross-voted in the elections for the lone Rajya Sabha seat in the state that had fallen empty.
The Congress was unable to cross the simple majority mark of 35 in the 68-member House, with the BJP insisting the Sukhu government was reduced to a minority and calling for his resignation.
Vikramaditya did not turn up for Sukhu’s breakfast meeting on Thursday. He had put in his papers a day earlier, accusing Sukhu of disrespecting the legacy of his father, the late six-time chief minister Virbhadra Singh. Vikramaditya appeared to backtrack on the resignation late on Thursday as he and Pratibha met the central observers.
The disqualification of six rebels has given the Congress a cushion in the state assembly, and breathing space to save the government. The speaker took action against the six under the anti-defection law, saying they defied the Congress whip during the vote on the finance bill.
The rebels have challenged the order in the high court. The effective strength of the assembly is now down to 62 and the majority mark 32, below the Congress’s effective strength of 34.
Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur reiterated that Congress had lost the majority, and asked Sukhu to resign. The six Congress rebel MLAs and the three independents were also expected to meet governor Shiv Pratap Shukla.
The crisis began on Tuesday when the Congress’s Abhishek Singhvi lost the lone Rajya Sabha set that went to poll in the state despite the party enjoying a clear majority. Singhvi and BJP nominee Harsh Mahajan received 34 votes each, with the latter winning in a draw of lots.
Sukhu said on Friday that Vikramaditya Singh had spoken to him on Thursday and Friday . “He informed me that the rebel MLAs wish to return and I advised him to communicate with both these MLAs and the party high command,” the CM said.
He added that the rebelling legislators’ family members are in contact with the party and that their allegiance was still with the Congress.
