Himachal Political Crisis: All is well, Govt Will Stay for 5 years, says DK Shivakumar

All is well in the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh and it will last for five years, says DK Shivakumar, one of the two observers sent by party command to fix the political crisis in the hill state.

Shimla:Senior Congress leader and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar who was one of the two observers appointed by the party to fix the political crisis in Himachal Pradesh Thursday assured that all was well in the hill state and the government "will stay for five years".

Shivakumar's comments came after his meeting with Himachal Congress leader and Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh and state party chief Pratibha Singh in Shimla. "All is well. This government will stay for 5 years. All issues have been sorted out. We are hearing all the MLAs. There is no problem in the government," Shivakumar said.

Earlier in the day, Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania disqualified six Congress MLAs who had cross-voted in the recent Rajya Sabha polls for the lone seat in the state. Reacting to it, Pratibha Singh batted for the disqualified MLAs and said "had you sat them down, talked to them and found out a solution, this situation would not have occurred."

"When it has been more than a year and you take no cognisance or listen to them, it is natural for them to be upset," the state Congress president said. The six MLAs had also abstained from voting on the Budget in the assembly, defying a party whip to vote in favour of the government on the Finance Bill. This was stated to be the reason for their disqualification.

The disqualified MLAs are Rajinder Rana, Sudhir Sharma, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Devinder Kumar Bhutoo, Ravi Thakur and Chetanya Sharma. Amid the crisis, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu held a breakfast meeting with party MLAs at his official residence, in an apparent show of unity. "It is just a get-together and let us see what happens in the meeting," Harish Janartha, an MLA from Shimla Urban seat, said before the meeting.

What transpired at the meeting and how many MLAs were present there could not be ascertained immediately but most of the legislators asserted that the government was stable and would last its full term. While the breakfast meeting was underway, Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Pathania announced the disqualification of the six rebel Congress MLAs.

These MLAs had cross-voted in favour of BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha elections on Tuesday. Later, they abstained from voting on the budget in the assembly. The House passed the Finance Bill by voice vote after Pathania suspended 15 BJP MLAs. The Speaker then adjourned the session sine die.

In a stunning upset for the ruling Congress in Himachal Pradesh, the BJP on Tuesday won the state's lone Rajya Sabha seat with its candidate Harsh Mahajan defeating Congress stalwart Abhishek Manu Singhvi and apparently setting the stage for a no-trust motion in the assembly. Amid a fresh scramble for power in the state, Minister Vikramaditya Singh on Wednesday announced that he was quitting the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu cabinet but hours later he said that he would not press for his resignation.

Congress's central observers Bhupinder Singh Hooda and D K Shivakumar held one-on-one meetings with party MLAs at a hotel near the Vidhan Sabha building here, but the six legislators who cross-voted during the Rajya Sabha polls were not in the town. They were flown back to Panchkula after appearing for a hearing on a petition on anti-defection law before Speaker Pathania.

In the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Assembly, the Congress has 40 MLAs while the BJP has 25 legislators. The remaining three seats are held by independents. (With Agency inputs)

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