‘Conveyed concerns of 6 rebel MLAs to high command, blaming Oppn not solution’: Himachal Congress leader Vikramaditya Singh

Talking to The Indian Express on Monday, Vikramaditya Singh said, “I had told both the observers – D K Shivakumar and Bhupinder Singh Hooda – that we should talk with the six MLAs who had cross-voted and led to the defeat of our party candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections. They gave me the go-ahead for the talks. I met them, listened to their concerns and then conveyed what they wanted to both the senior leaders who listened to me patiently. Both the leaders (Priyanka and Venugopal) acknowledged that there is huge resentment among the Congress legislators in Himachal Pradesh. They said they received similar feedback from other sources as well.”

When asked if he conveyed the main demand of the six rebel MLAs – to remove Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu from the top post, Singh said, “I did not say any such thing from my end but yes, I conveyed what the rebel MLAs told me. Their concerns… their demands. Indeed, we have disqualified them but I hope we should continue the dialogue. Blaming the Opposition party (BJP) for everything is not the solution. We should first look into our house. The Opposition party will always take the benefit of the crisis inside the house of its rival. It is our collective responsibility to put our house in order.”

On speculations that he will leave the party, Singh, son of six-time chief minister Virbhadra Singh, clarified, “I had changed the tagline on the profile of my Facebook as ‘Himachal Ka Sewak’ sometime in the month of November last year. People noticed it now when the political turmoil is going on in the state.”

On the question that chief minister Sukhu recently allotted Cabinet ranks to two MLAs – Nand Lal and Bhawani Singh Pathania – considered to be loyalists of the Virbhadra camp, Singh says, “I believe things are moving in the right direction, but with delay. Parliamentary elections are ahead. The BJP has released its first list and started preparations. We are still struggling with the leadership crisis in Himachal Pradesh.”

Sources said Vikramaditya Singh will attend a government function where Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari will inaugurate development projects worth thousands of crores in Hamirpur district on Wednesday. He is scheduled to return to Shimla on Monday.

Last Friday, when Singh had met rebels in Chandigarh, Sukhu had termed the six disqualified MLAs as “kaale saap (black snakes)” during a public rally at Dharampur in Solan district.