Himachal Pradesh Congress President Pratibha Singh has responded to the political speculation surrounding the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and the possibility of her facing off against BJP’s Kangana Ranaut. Pratibha Singh, the wife of the late Virbhadra Singh, the six-time Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, currently represents the Mandi constituency of Himachal Pradesh. When asked about her stance on contesting against Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut for the Mandi Lok Sabha seat, here’s what she said. Watch!
Tag: Himachal Pradesh Congress
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No infighting within Himachal Congress, ‘conflict’ was for CM post: Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu
By PTI
NEW DELHI: There is no infighting within the Himachal Pradesh Congress and the “conflict” was only for chief ministership as there were three-four claimants, newly sworn-in CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has said, adding if something were wrong, there would have been a “Rajasthan-like situation”.
He asserted that no Congress legislator in the state would defect to the BJP and the party’s government was committed to work for the people and would fulfil the promise of restoring the old pension scheme for government employees in the first cabinet meeting.
In an exclusive interview with PTI, Sukhu said, “We have spoken to the finance secretary. Under a strategy we know from where we have to generate money and where we have to invest. We have done the work on introducing the old pension scheme and we will introduce it in the first cabinet meeting.”
Asked about the expansion of his cabinet, he said it will happen soon and denied reports about some MLAs lobbying for ministerial berths.
After the Congress wrested power from the BJP in the hill state winning 40 of the 68 assembly seats, the party picked Sukhu, 58, as its chief minister over some other claimants to the post, including state party chief Pratibha Singh and Mukesh Agnihotri.
Sukhu, a four-time MLA from Nadaun in Hamirpur district and the son of a bus driver, was sworn in as the chief minister on December 11.
Agnihotri took oath as the deputy chief minister.
The chief minister dismissed reports about infighting within the Congress state unit, but admitted that there was jockeying for the post of CM.
“Conflict was for post, it’s not party conflict. Three-four people were willing to occupy the post of chief minister. You can see till now we have not done the cabinet expansion. If something were wrong, a Rajasthan-like situation would have occurred,” he said.
The Congress government in Rajasthan led by Ashok Gehlot faced a rebellion by his then deputy and state party president Sachin Pilot and some other MLAs in 2020.
Though the Congress managed to defuse the situation then, the two factions have been at loggerheads ever since.
Sukhu targeted the opposition BJP over reports that some Congress MLAs may join hands with it.
“No Congress member will defect from the party,” he asserted.
He said the people of the state voted against malgovernance of the BJP.
He said the country is facing various issues such as unemployment and inflation but the BJP is trying to divert people’s attention from the core issue by using various tactics including making mockery of Rahul Gandhi’s speech.
He hailed the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra and said the foot march aims to unite people and remove hate that is being spread in society in the name of religion and caste.
Sukhu credited Congress workers for the victory of the party and praised party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for framing an effective campaigning strategy.
The chief minister said his government was committed to work for the welfare of the people and would fulfil the “10 guarantees” made to the people in the run-up to the November 12 assembly elections.
The poll results were announced on December 8.
In its manifesto for the assembly elections, the Congress made 10 promises such as restoration of the old pension scheme, 300 units of free power, a Rs 680-crore Startup fund, one lakh jobs, Rs 1,500 per month for women aged between 18 and 60 years, and free medical treatment in every village through mobile clinics.
NEW DELHI: There is no infighting within the Himachal Pradesh Congress and the “conflict” was only for chief ministership as there were three-four claimants, newly sworn-in CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has said, adding if something were wrong, there would have been a “Rajasthan-like situation”.
He asserted that no Congress legislator in the state would defect to the BJP and the party’s government was committed to work for the people and would fulfil the promise of restoring the old pension scheme for government employees in the first cabinet meeting.
In an exclusive interview with PTI, Sukhu said, “We have spoken to the finance secretary. Under a strategy we know from where we have to generate money and where we have to invest. We have done the work on introducing the old pension scheme and we will introduce it in the first cabinet meeting.”
Asked about the expansion of his cabinet, he said it will happen soon and denied reports about some MLAs lobbying for ministerial berths.
After the Congress wrested power from the BJP in the hill state winning 40 of the 68 assembly seats, the party picked Sukhu, 58, as its chief minister over some other claimants to the post, including state party chief Pratibha Singh and Mukesh Agnihotri.
Sukhu, a four-time MLA from Nadaun in Hamirpur district and the son of a bus driver, was sworn in as the chief minister on December 11.
Agnihotri took oath as the deputy chief minister.
The chief minister dismissed reports about infighting within the Congress state unit, but admitted that there was jockeying for the post of CM.
“Conflict was for post, it’s not party conflict. Three-four people were willing to occupy the post of chief minister. You can see till now we have not done the cabinet expansion. If something were wrong, a Rajasthan-like situation would have occurred,” he said.
The Congress government in Rajasthan led by Ashok Gehlot faced a rebellion by his then deputy and state party president Sachin Pilot and some other MLAs in 2020.
Though the Congress managed to defuse the situation then, the two factions have been at loggerheads ever since.
Sukhu targeted the opposition BJP over reports that some Congress MLAs may join hands with it.
“No Congress member will defect from the party,” he asserted.
He said the people of the state voted against malgovernance of the BJP.
He said the country is facing various issues such as unemployment and inflation but the BJP is trying to divert people’s attention from the core issue by using various tactics including making mockery of Rahul Gandhi’s speech.
He hailed the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra and said the foot march aims to unite people and remove hate that is being spread in society in the name of religion and caste.
Sukhu credited Congress workers for the victory of the party and praised party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for framing an effective campaigning strategy.
The chief minister said his government was committed to work for the welfare of the people and would fulfil the “10 guarantees” made to the people in the run-up to the November 12 assembly elections.
The poll results were announced on December 8.
In its manifesto for the assembly elections, the Congress made 10 promises such as restoration of the old pension scheme, 300 units of free power, a Rs 680-crore Startup fund, one lakh jobs, Rs 1,500 per month for women aged between 18 and 60 years, and free medical treatment in every village through mobile clinics.
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Pratibha Singh appointed President of Himachal Pradesh Congress
Express News Service
CHANDIGARH: Lok Sabha Member of Parliament from Mandi, Pratibha Singh has been appointed as the President of Himachal Pradesh Congress, she is wife of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.
Besides appointing Pratibha Singh as Himachal Congress chief, the party has appointed four working presidents, Harsh Mahajan, Rajinder Rana, Vinay Kumar and Pawan Kajal. Meanwhile, Mukesh Agnihotri will stay as Himachal Congress Legislative Party leader and Harshvardhan Chauhan is deputy CLP leader. Former Himachal Congress President and Nadaun MLA Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has been appointed as Chairman of the campaign committee and a member of the screening committee. “It is for the first time working presidents have been appointed by the party in the state congress,” said a senior leader.
A few state party leaders are of the opinion that appointing Pratibha Singh as state Congress chief would strengthen the party and the factionalism might come to an end as the dominant group within the party is the former CM’s family. Moreover, they said, the Rajput factor will work in her favour and the most important the sympathy wave given how after the death of former CM Virbhadra Singh last year the state Congress has been a divided lot.
“To win the elections, the Congress with this move has tried to put a united face despite its internal differences,” said a party leader.
Sources said that the Congress would not declare a chief ministerial face for the upcoming assembly polls scheduled for later this year as the ruling BJP has already declared sitting Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur as the face of the party.
Meanwhile, Jagat Singh Negi is the chief whip and Dr Rajesh Sharma is the treasurer. Also, former union minister Anand Sharma has been appointed as Chairman of the steering committee and Asha Kumari convenor. Meanwhile Dhaniram Shandil will be the chairman of the Manifesto Committee, Ashish Butail will be the vice-chairman and Rohit Thakur convenor. Adjusting other leaders Kaul Singh Thakur has been named as the Chairman of the coordination committee and Ram Lal Thakur Chairman of the Election Management Committee.
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Himachal Pradesh Congress seeks compensation for farmers for crop damage due to cloudburst
By PTI
SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh Congress vice president Ravi Thakur demanded on Sunday that the state government should provide immediate compensation to the farmers of Lahaul-Spiti tribal district whose ripe crops were damaged due to the cloudburst over the Tojing Nullah on July 27.
Thakur, also a former MLA of Lahaul-Spiti, told the media here that a majority of farmers of Udaipur subdivision in Lahaul valley lost their ripe crops of peas, cauliflowers, broccoli, iceberg lettuce and lilium flowers due to flash floods triggered by the cloudburst.
At least eight people were killed in flash floods in Lahaul-Spiti triggered by the cloudburst over Tozing Nullah in Udaipur on July 27.
Several roads were also blocked due to landslides.
Thakur accompanied by Lahaul-Spiti Congress incharge Maheshwar Chauhan alleged that the BJP government in the state failed to handle the situation that arose due to the flash floods.
The former MLA claimed that the residents of Changut village had to spend two nights in a cave as no one from the administration reached there to evacuate them.
Alleging that state Technical Education Minister and Lahaul-Spiti MLA Ram Lal Markanda had submitted a false affidavit during 2017 Assembly polls claiming that he had no property, Thakur said he filed a petition in the state High Court in this regard.
Markanda is evading his appearance before the court while a number of witnesses including several government employees already recorded their statements in the court, he added.
Thakur and Chauhan demanded panchayat elections be held in Lahaul-Spiti district along with the by-election to Mandi parliamentary seat.
Thakur further demanded that the foundation stone installed at the site of Atal Tunnel Rohtang by Congress president Sonia Gandhi on June 28, 2010 in the presence of then CM Prem Kumar Dhumal and Union minister Virbhadra Singh, who passed away last month, should be immediately reinstalled.
The former Congress MLA stated that the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government had provided Rs 1,355 crore for the construction of the tunnel.
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Ram Subhag Singh appointed Himachal Pradesh chief secretary; Congress protests in Assembly
By PTI
SHIMLA: The Himachal Pradesh government on Thursday appointed senior IAS officer Ram Subhag Singh as the chief secretary replacing Anil Kumar Khachi who was made the state election commissioner, prompting the opposition Congress to stage a walkout in the Assembly in protest.
The Congress alleged that a Himachal Pradesh resident was removed from the post of chief secretary to elevate an “outsider”.
In an order, the state government appointed Khachi as the state election commissioner (SEC) with immediate effect.
Khachi, a 1986-batch IAS officer, served as the chief secretary for over one year and seven months.
The senior most IAS officer after Khachi, Singh was appointed as the new chief secretary.
Singh, a 1987-batch IAS officer, was the additional chief secretary (industries, transport, labour and employment) before his elevation.
In the Assembly, Leader of Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri said a Himachal Pradesh resident has been removed for appointing an “outsider” to the topmost administrative post, that too in the middle of an Assembly session.
He also wanted a discussion on the issue.
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur stated that it is the prerogative of the state government to appoint the chief secretary.
The House cannot decide who will be chief secretary and this matter cannot be discussed in the House, he added.
To this, Congress legislators made an uproar and started raising slogans.
Aginhotri said the chief minister had talked about Himachal and Himchaliyat while paying tributes to former CM Yashwant Singh Parmar on his 115th birth anniversary on Wednesday, but a day after he removed a HP resident from the topmost administrative post to pave the way for appointment of an “outsider”.
He said the new chief secretary would be the sixth during the current government.
Speaker Vipin Singh Parmar said he cannot allow the Congress to raise the issue as it is the prerogative of the state government to appoint the chief secretary and other officers, and not of the House.
To this, the Congress legislators staged a walkout in protest.
The chief minister said the Congress should look back on how its government appointed an officer who was sixth in seniority as the chief secretary, whereas the current government has not violated any rule in the new appointment.
Thakur said that Khachi has been removed from the post so as to appoint him to the constitutional post for the five years while only one year and nine months were left in his current tenure.
Khachi was appointed to the new post after discussion with him, he added.
A few minutes later, the Congress MLAs returned to the House and routine proceedings started.