Himachal Pradesh Political Crisis: Cong MLA Vikramaditya Singh says he will not press his resignation

According to reports, the MLAs are "disappointed" with the working style of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and are seeking his replacement.

Congress MP Rajeev Shukla says, "Our party observers who have come to Shimla are talking to the party MLAs and taking their opinion. First, they met the PCC Chief and also met Vikramaditya Singh. CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has said that he is not going to accept his resignation and he has also agreed not to press on his decision to resign."

Congress leader Vikramaditya Singh says, "There is a difference between taking back the resignation and not pressing the resignation till the time the dialogue and the action of the observers is not complete... We have talked to the observers. We have informed them about the present situation... I will not press my resignation until a decision is taken. The final decision will be taken in the coming time..."

Vikramaditya Singh, one of the six MLAs who cross-voted denied the claims of joining the BJP and stressed on the importance of maintaining the stability of the Congress government in the state.

# Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu says

CM Sukhu said that the party has passed a disqualification motion against the Congress MLAs who voted for BJP candidate in RS polls. The hearing for it is currently ongoing, he added. "The budget was passed today and the conspiracy to topple our govt has been foiled and our govt will complete 5 years," he said.

On Vikramaditya Singh's resignation, CM said, "Vikramaditya Singh is my younger brother and I have spoken to him. They (Congress MLAs who cross-voted) should have respected the party. They may be upset with me, but a person like Abhishek Singhvi should have gone to the Rajya Sabha from Himachal Pradesh, but they did not vote for him and betrayed the party. This has never happened before in the history of state politics..."

"BJP is spreading rumours of my resignation. They want to create a break in the legislative party. They want Congress MLAs to leave the party and join them. Congress is united. Some of the MLAs who voted for BJP are in our contact," he added.

A notice has been served by Speaker to 6 Congress MLAs who voted for the BJP candidate as to why they should not be disqualified under the anti-defection law, revealed the Advocate Satya Pal Jain who appeared on their behalf. "We have said that we have only received the notice, not the copy of the petition, so a copy of the petition should be given to us and after that, we will present our stand. As per Rule 7, a minimum time of 7 days should be given. The hearing will be held again today at 4 pm," said Advocate Jain.

# Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications Jairam Ramesh says,

"...A report will be presented to the Congress president, by the Observers at the earliest, after listening to everyone. Based on that, further steps will definitely be taken after speaking with the party president and other leaders. Maybe some harsh decisions will have to be made but we won't shy away from that. Organisation is supreme. Congress party is supreme."

"Accountability will definitely be fixed. Accountability was fixed in Haryana...There are two parts of this report - first, why did the cross-voting happen here and how was it allowed to happen. Second, what steps should be taken to save the government and uphold the mandate? When the report comes, discussions will be held and decision will be made. Until then, all reports and speculations are baseless," he added as per ANI.

# Senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who has been appointed as one of the two observers for the Himachal Pradesh crisis, leaves from Chandigarh for Shimla.

"This government has lost all the moral rights to stay in power. As far as I have been informed, CM Sukhu has also presented his resignation inside the House. Maybe the high command has asked him I am not sure..."

# On the resignation of Vikramaditya Singh, BJP's winning Rajya Sabha candidate Harsh Mahajan says

"I saw his press conference. What he said in the press conference is absolutely correct. I agree with it 100%. He is the son of Virbhadra Singh and is a youth icon in Himachal. The way he narrated in the press conference - how he was humiliated, how his father was humiliated - what options he had? What he did, did on moral grounds and is correct."

15 BJP MLAs including LoP Jairam Thakur, Vipin Singh Parmar, Randheer Sharma, Lokender Kumar, Vinod Kumar, Hans Raj, Janak Raj, Balbir Verma, Trilok Jamwal, Surender Shori, Deep Raj, Puran Thakur, Inder Singh Gandhi, Dileep Thakur and Inder Singh Gandhi, have been expelled by the Assembly Speaker for allegedly shouting slogans and misconduct in the Chamber of Speaker today.

# Himachal Minister Vikramaditya Singh announces resignation.

He says, "All I would like to say is that under the current circumstances, it is not correct for me to continue as a part of the government. So, I have decided that I am resigning from the Council of Ministers. I am resigning as a minister. In the time to come, I will have video consultations with my people and then decide about the future course of action."

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. The voting was a tie with both the Congress and the BJP candidates getting 34 votes, indicating that at least six Congress MLAs voted against the party. The result was then declared based on a draw of lots, officials said.

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.