HP CM Sukhu to meet Congress central leadership; hints at dialogue with rebels

Shimla, Mar 7 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu suggested “dialogue” as a way out of the crisis triggered last week by six party rebels as he headed Thursday to Delhi for a meeting with the Congress central leadership.

As he softened his stand towards the Congress rebels who cross-voted in last week’s Rajya Sabha polls, Sukhu targeted the BJP-led Union government, suggesting that it had used official machinery to “destabilise” his government in the state.

He made the allegation at a state cabinet meeting.

Emerging from the meeting, he invoked the Hindi saying on “Subah ka bhoola” that refers to someone who commits a mistake but makes amends later, and suggested the possibility of resolving the crisis through “baat-cheet” or dialogue.

“Subah ka Bhula agar koi galti karta hai aur baat-cheet ka rasta nikalta hai to dekha jayega,” he told reporters.

Officials said Sukhu was headed Thursday for Delhi to meet Congress leadership on the crisis.

Last week, six Congress MLAs and three independents had voted for the BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan for the lone seat in the Rajya Sabha, leading to the defeat of party’s official nominee Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

Later, acting on a complaint by the Congress, Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania disqualified the six MLAs from the House for defying a party whip to vote on the state Budget.

The rebels – on of whom was also removed as an AICC secretary -- have approached the Supreme Court against the Speaker’s move.

At the state cabinet meeting, the CM condemned the Centre’s use of “official machinery to destabilise a democratically elected government and the nefarious designs used by the BJP to subvert the democratic process”, a statement said.

The cabinet resolved to inform the people of the state about the “propaganda” of the BJP and “said in one voice that the state government will complete a full term of five years”, the statement added.

Days earlier, Sukhu had called the six rebels “black serpents” at a public meeting in Solan.

The CM’s apparent softening of stand comes a day after he accused the rebels of deceiving the people of their constituencies.

"I had never imagined that a few MLAs from the district (his own home turf Hamirpur) would go against the party and hinder the pace of development in the district," he said on Wednesday.

Himachal Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh, who is the son of state Congress chief Pratibha Singh, has mediated between the rebels and Congress central leadership.

"Everything is possible in politics and all doors are open in politics,” he said Wednesday when asked about the rebels coming back to the party-fold.

The six Congress rebels are Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma and Devinder Kumar Bhutto.

At Thursday’s meeting, the cabinet also urged the Centre to release an amount of Rs 9,043 crore for disaster relief.

It decided to appoint 2,401 teachers through “limited direct recruitment” on contract basis by school management committees on the recommendations of a cabinet sub-committee.

The also gave approval to a recently announced plan to provide Rs 1,500 per month to all eligible in the 18-59 age group as Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi scheme.

The modalities of the scheme are being worked out and income criteria would be set for picking the beneficiaries, sources said.

Earlier CM Sukhu had announced that over 5 lakh women would benefit under the scheme that would cost the state Rs 800 crore annually. PTI