CM turns down Congress plea

SHIMLA, June 12: Himachal chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has said a polite ``no'' to the Congress on its plea for granting status of ``lea...

SHIMLA, June 12: Himachal chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has said a polite “no” to the Congress on its plea for granting status of “leader of opposition” to the Congress Legislature Party leader in the state.

Reliable sources said the Chief Minister, in his reply to letter of PCC president Sant Ram, claimed that the Congress had not set any healthy parliamentary convention during its long rule. He reminded that twice when the BJP had a sufficient strength in the House and eligibility for the same, its (BJP) legislature party leaders were denied the status in 1982.

Chief Minister told Sant Ram that he (Sant Ram) himself had been a minister in the government when the Congress had strength of 32 and the BJP 29, but Shanta Kumar, then leader of the BJP Legislature Party, was not given the status of leader of opposition. He wondered whether Sant Ram had even read the letter before signing the same or dispatching it to him (CM) asking for status of leader of opposition to CLP leader.

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Meanwhile, Forest Minister Roop Singh Thakur, in a separate statement, wondered as how the Congress had always been inconveniently forgetting the parliamentary tradition when in power, but suddenly start reminding the others of it. He advised Sant Ram to check the records of the Assembly as whether the Congress had followed the traditions and given status of the leader of opposition to the BJP, despite its full eligibility for the same.

The CLP leader, Virbhadra Singh, has already resigned taking party responsibility for the party’s defeat.

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