The Himachal Pradesh cabinet meeting on Saturday, 2nd March, witnessed high drama as Minister of Horticulture, Revenue and Tribal Minister Jagat Singh Negi, and Education Minister Rohit Thakur left in the middle of the meeting over policy decisions following a heated debate. However, Thakur later returned when Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri calmed him down. Furthermore, the Industries Minister along with portfolios of Parliamentary Affairs Harshwardhan Chauhan and Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh who is visiting Udaipur, Rajasthan, for “personal work” were not present at the meeting either.
According to people with knowledge of the events, Rohit Thakur left following a contentious argument over differing opinions on decisions pertaining to the education department. However, when the minister spoke to the media thereafter, he claimed that he left the meeting due to “personal reasons” that left him “emotionally disturbed.”
Rohit Thakur mentioned, “We are Pahari people and we get emotional, I dropped my son at his hostel in the morning.” He met with Mukesh Agnihotri in his chamber before returning to the meeting but said that he left for a little while to see someone and returned later.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu presided over the meeting, which Jagat Negi stated began at approximately 12.30 pm rather than the planned 11 am and conflicted with another appointment he had. It was getting late, he remarked, so he left the meeting.
Rumours about unrest in Himachal Congress gained momentum when Mukesh Agnihotri was seen running after Negi. According to the sources, the purpose of the meeting, the second ministerial session in three days, was to address the building dissatisfaction among ministers concerning Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s leadership.
The Chief Minister asked Rohit Thakur to update the media on the decisions taken by the government in the cabinet meeting, seemingly to downplay the tensions. Ayush, Youth Services & Sports Ministe,r Yadvinder Goma, and Minister of Technical Education, Vocational and Industrial Training, Rajesh Dharmani, were with him during the news briefing.
Later, Jagat Negi and Yadvinder Goma headed to Chandigarh. According to reports, the six disqualified lawmakers who are camped in Panchkula could speak with the two leaders. Jagat Negi informed, “I am going to Chandigarh but can not disclose the purpose of my visit. I will tell you later.”
The latest cabinet reshuffle resulted in the technical education department being reassigned to newly-appointed minister Rajesh Dharmani, further straining Rohit Thakur’s relationship with the Chief Minister. Afterwards, Rohit Thakur was assigned the additional charge of stationery and printing. Harshwardhan Chauhan had also lost the Ayush department and was given the department of labour and employment.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is a liar: Rebel Congress MLA
Rajinder Rana, a rebel Himachal Pradesh Congress MLA, stated earlier in the day that nine other party legislators were in contact with them (six disqualified lawmakers) because they too were “feeling suffocated” by the Chief Minister’s style of functioning. Accusing that the Chief Minister was attempting to distort the truth, Rana referred to Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu as “liar number one.”
Rajinder Rana noted, “Neither Public Works Department Minister Vikramaditya Singh had told the Chief Minister that he is meeting the Congress rebels at Panchkula nor the CM had sent him. Vikramaditya Singh, who met us on his way to Delhi, did not ask us to patch up. He has his grievances against the government which failed to provide land for installing Virbhadra Singh’s statue and interfered in Vikramaditya’s functioning.”
Despite calling the six rebel MLAs “black serpents,” the Chief Minister claimed to have asked Vikramaditya Singh to meet with the rebels who had cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha election.
Political turmoil in Himachal Pradesh
The Congress is in firefighting mode in the hill state after the Bharatiya Janata Party won the state’s lone Rajya Sabha seat despite being in the minority with just 25 MLAs against 40 of Congress, as nine MLAs, including six from the ruling party, voted for the saffron party. Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania disqualified six Congress MLAs for abstaining from voting on the Cut Motion and the Finance Bill. He stated, “Six MLAs, who contested on Congress symbol, attracted provisions of anti-defection law against themselves. I declare that the six people cease to be members of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly with immediate effect.”
Vikramaditya Singh had also announced his resignation from the Cabinet following the cross-voting. He asserted, “All I would like to say is that under the current circumstances, it is not correct for me to continue as a part of the government. So, I have decided that I am resigning from the Council of Ministers. I am resigning as a minister.” However, he later backed down after meeting with Congress observers Bhupinder Singh Hooda and DK Shivakumar who reported that the resignation had been rescinded.
According to the sources, the observers informed the party’s central leadership that MLAs and ministers are “extremely dissatisfied” with the Chief Minister. Party insiders, however, disclosed that they recommended Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to stay on as Chief Minister until the upcoming general election.
