'Not Taking Back Resignation Till...': In Himachal Drama, Vikramaditya's Fresh Twist

High-profile minister Vikramaditya Singh, son of Himachal Congress president Pratibha Singh, confirmed on Thursday that he has not taken back his resignation and will not act in this regard unless the Congress observers put forth their final decision.

“We spoke to the observer and discussed the current situation. They are looking into the matter and will take the final decision after talking to the MLAs. This situation did not happen because of me. It happened because of those legislators,” he added.

Meanwhile, his mother, Pratibha Singh, cornered her own government and said, “Ever since the government was formed, nothing is going well. We have brought all this to the attention of the high command, we wanted everyone to sit and find a solution. But even after a year, no decision was taken and then this situation arose. Talking to the Observer is our internal matter.”

Vikramaditya had submitted his resignation from council of ministers on Wednesday morning but hours later softened his stand.

After a meeting with central observers, who were rushed by the party to Shimla, Singh cited chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s rejection of his offer to resign and the need for unity in the party.

In view of this, he told reporters, he is not pressing for it. He also claimed then that the state government was never in crisis.

The turbulence in Himachal was triggered by Tuesday’s cross-voting by six Congress MLAs in the Rajya Sabha election for the lone seat from Himachal Pradesh. The party has now sought the disqualification of these MLAs from the assembly. The matter was heard by Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania who has reserved his order.

The suspended BJP MLAs, who include the leader of the opposition Jai Ram Thakur, initially refused to leave the House — in an apparent bid to stall the assembly from passing the Sukhu government’s Budget through voice vote. The BJP wanted voting on the Budget, which they felt would reveal that the Congress has lost its majority in the state assembly.

But in the afternoon, the crisis was staved off for the time being as the House passed the Finance Bill by voice vote with no Bharatiya Janata Party member being present. The Speaker then adjourned the session sine die. Chief Minister Sukhu dismissed speculation that he was resigning. “Neither the high command, nor anyone else has asked me for resignation,” Sukhu told.

(With inputs from PTI)