By – Prakarsh Kastwar
Vikramaditya Singh, the public works minister of Himachal Pradesh, resigned amid growing displeasure with the leadership of chief minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu.
The Himachal Pradesh administration was on the verge of collapse on Wednesday when Congress leader Vikramaditya Singh quit as public works minister amid growing anger with chief minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu.
“All I’d like to say is that, given the current circumstances, it is not appropriate for me to continue serving in government. So, I’ve chosen to resign from the Council of Ministers. In the future, I shall hold video discussions with my people before deciding on the next course of action,” Singh said during a press conference.
Singh’s resignation comes a day after six Congress MLAs cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha elections, resulting in an embarrassing defeat for party candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi. The cross-voting in Rajya Sabha elections, as well as Vikramaditya Singh’s departure, have exposed the schism between groups loyal to president Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu and state unit president Pratibha Singh.
Vikramaditya Singh, son of Pratibha Singh and former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, stated that the government was created with everyone’s help, but the MLAs were ignored and their voices were muffled.
“The (state) ministry failed to find a single plot of land on Mall Road to install the statue of a person (Virbhadra Singh) who served as the CM of Himachal Pradesh six times, because of whom this government was formed,” he complained.
Meanwhile, BJP MLAs met with Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla on Wednesday, concerned that the Assembly Speaker might suspend their MLAs or disqualify Congress members who cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha poll.
“As per our information, notices have been issued to Congress MLAs who voted for the BJP candidate, asking them to explain why action should not be taken against them under the anti-defection law,” he went on to say.