Himachal Congress chief Pratibha Singh lauds BJP

Shimla: A day after trouble-shooter DK Shivakumar declared that Himachal Pradesh's political crisis was over, state Congress chief Pratibha Singh on Friday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s “work” is "better than ours". Claiming the BJP "will do a lot of things" as per the directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she said the Congress is on weak footing.

Pratibha Singh's remarks came hours after her son Vikramaditya Singh met with the rebel MLAs who voted against the Congress in the Rajya Sabha elections. Because of cross-voting, the BJP dealt an embarrassing loss to the ruling Congress, which is in majority in the state assembly.

"A lot of things remain to be done in Congress...It is true that BJP's work is better than ours," she told ANI.

"From day 1, I had been telling the CM that we would be able to face the upcoming elections only if he strengthens the organisation. This is a very tough situation for us. We can see a lot of difficulties on the ground. As per the directions of PM Modi, BJP is going to do a lot of things...We are on weak footing there. I urged him again and again that we need to strengthen and the party needs to be organised...I can say that it is a difficult time. Still, we have to contest elections and win," she added.

Also read: Vikramaditya Singh meets rebel MLAs, sparks unease within Himachal Congress

The six MLAs were disqualified from the house for cross-voting. Singh said the party high command will decide their fate. "They will go (to court) and everyone fights for justice...I don't know what the directions were. They too must have been hurt by this decision because they are all Congress people and were fighting for their rights, for their demands...Let's see how the situation develops," she added.

BJP says Sukhu government won't last

Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur said the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government will not last. He blamed the Congress for the political crisis in Himachal Pradesh. "We are sitting here, we are not doing anything. Whatever is happening - it is happening amongst them. We are alert regarding the political developments taking place. But the unethical and wrong methods that have been adopted to save the government - suspension of BJP MLAs, disqualification of 6 Congress MLAs - and a few hasty decisions that have been taken have affected the image of the CM across the state. He should understand this," he said.

Also read: Himachal crisis: Who is Congress MLA Vikramaditya Singh? Why did he resign?

Vikramaditya Singh, who resigned as the state minister earlier this week, met the rebels in Haryana's Panchkula.

His meeting came a day after DK Shivakumar -- who was sent by the Congress leadership to save the government -- claimed that all differences within the state unit of the party had been ironed out.

The BJP claimed after the Rajya Sabha results that the Congress government had lost the majority. The party was planning to subject the government to a floor test. However, the very next day, 15 BJP MLAs, including Jairam Thakur, were suspended for unruly behaviour.

The disqualification of the six MLAs brought the majority mark in the assembly further down, which will make it easier for the Sukhu government to tide over a potential trust vote.

The Congress has vowed to fix accountability for the embarrassing loss. Jairam Ramesh said the party will examine how the MLAs were allowed to cross-vote.

With inputs from ANI