CHANDIGARH: All’s not too well in the Himachal Pradesh Congress. Months before the Lok Sabha polls, chinks are widening not only in the Punjab or Haryana Congress. Turmoil is brewing in the Himachal unit of the party as well with state Congress chief and MP from Mandi, Pratibha Singh, going against CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. She is joined by her two senior party MLAs while openly criticizing their own government.
Pratibha Singh is the wife of late CM Virbhadra Singh. She said recently that the party organisation should not be ignored as the government was formed due to the efforts of party workers. She said the chief minister has repeatedly said that he is a “party man.” “So he should accommodate the dedicated party workers and leaders in the government. I have raised the issue many times and have given a list of potential party candidates to enable the CM to make a choice. But nothing has happened,’’ she said.
Party workers, she said, feel neglected by the government. She also said that when the government was formed, the party high command had maintained that everyone would be taken along so that party workers get their due in the government.
Two senior Congress MLAs -- Rajinder Rana (Sujanpur) and working president of state party and Sudhir Sharma (Dharamshala) stayed away from a key meeting, saying that those who have got the cabinet rank without contesting the polls were dominating the elected MLAs. Rana alleged that despite financial crises, the non-elected were being given cabinet rank with pilot and escort vehicles.
A four-time MLA from Dharamshala, Sudhir Sharma who was previously the urban development minister in the Virbhadra cabinet questioned the delay in releasing the last installment of MLA area development fund. He said he had opted to submit his priorities online to the planning department.