The Congress government in Himachal Pradesh appeared on the lopside when Rajya Sabha elections took place on Tuesday. The Bharatiya Janata Party won the single RS seat in the state. The BJP’s victory came as a jolt to the ruling Congress, as six Congress MLAs cross-voted to outmanoeuvre the Grand Old Party of India. Congress’s Abhishek Manu Singhvi lost the lone Rajya Sabha seat to BJP’s Harsh Mahajan. Following the success of the BJP, Leader of the Opposition Jairam Thakur asked the Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to resign.
With the Congress’ embarrassing defeat, which holds 40 out of 68 seats in the assembly, whereas the BJP has only 25, it led to a potential no-confidence motion being moved against the government.
On Wednesday, too, the high-octane drama continued to unfold with the Speaker expelling 15 BJP MLAs, including Thakur, for misbehaving in the House. Amid the ruckus, the news of the chief minister and Congress leader Vikramaditya Singh’s resignation shook the Himachal Pradesh government. Although reports of the former’s resignation were not true, Vikramaditya quitting the Cabinet is being seen as a major setback for the Congress in Himachal.
Besides being the son of former CM of the state, Virbhadra Singh, Vikramaditya has brought allegations on Sukhu for being incapable of running the government.
At a time when the news of Himachal Pradesh government hitting its rock-bottom, leading to its probable collapse at any time is doing the rounds, BJP RS MP Harsh Mahajan was heard iterating the same in an interview.
Q: Was this victory in the Rajya Sabha pre-planned, or is this all a planned plot to dismantle the Sukhu-led state government?
A: Lot of the Congress MLAs felt humiliated with the Sukhu government. This outcome in the Rajya Sabha polls is the result of their resentment. I was in touch with most of them as I knew them all. They were all groomed by me when I was in the Congress, before I joined the BJP three years ago. On speaking to them, I understood that they were keen on bringing down the Sukhu-led government. And the circumstances unfolded in such a manner that I won the Rajya Sabha seat.
Q: Did you encourage Vikramaditya and the old Virbhadra group to leave the Congress and support the BJP? We were told that you had provoked them to make such a move?
A: No, I did not ask them to leave. They made the move on their own accord. In the past one and half years, the Sukhu government has failed the people of Himachal. As a voter, I met them personally. And being their senior leader, since they knew me from before, they restored their faith in me; and openly extended their support to the BJP.
Q: Is it true that this is Operation Lotus? This was pre-planned? There was resentment in the Congress, and BJP tried to fish in troubled waters? Did BJP promise any inducements or ministerial posts to the Congress?
A: We have not promised anything to anyone. We are a political party and we try to make the best of any opportunity that comes our way. This was not planned. We can see that the entire Congress party will be dismantled soon. And, it is going to happen in Himachal too. Several MLAs are in touch with us and in two to three days, they will topple the Congress government in the state. The Speaker has suspended our MLAs. This is only a tactic to delay things. What is inevitable will happen.
Q: How many from the Congress are still leaving in a five-star culture? At least 15 of them are in touch with you?
A: We have not promised anything to anyone. They want to come to us unconditionally. We have seen how Vikramaditya broke down while stating how his father was being neglected. Some Congress observers have come to the state in order to replace Sukhu. And everyone is pitching-in for the Chief Minister's post. In such a scenario, the fall of the Congress government in Himachal is certain.
(Curated from the Interview of RS MP Harsh Mahajan with Rajdeep Sardesai, India Today)
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