Thursday, May 9

“This Govt Will Stay For 5 Years”: DK Shivakumar After Meeting Congress Leaders In Himachal Pradesh

Edited by Fazal Rahman Chembulangad
"This Govt Will Stay For 5 Years" DK Shivakumar After Meeting Congress Leaders In Himachal Pradesh

Congress leader DK Shivakumar after meeting with Himachal Pradesh Congress leaders Vikramaditya Singh and Pratibha Singh in Shimla today said that the Congress government will stay for five years, dismissing the problems in the government. “All is well. This govt will stay for 5 years. All issues have been sorted out. We are hearing all the MLAs. There is no problem in the government,” the Karnataka deputy chief minister was heard saying in a video shared by the news agency ANI.

Mr Shivakumar, also known as the Congress party’s troubleshooter was sent to Shimla when the political crisis in Himachal Pradesh escalated with Congress MLAs’ cross-voting and minister’s resignation. The party sent Mr Shivakumar to reconcile with the Congress members and settle the issue given his experience in saving the party at several occasions by keeping MLAs safe.

A day after the defeat of the Congress party in the Rajya Sabha election despite having a majority in the assembly, Vikramaditya Singh resigned as minister from the Congress government. The developments had hit Congress heavily, with the opposition BJP voicing for non-confidence motion against the Congress government.

After a group of Congress leaders led by Mr DK Shivakumar reached Shimla, the news of icing the political crisis began to come out. The resigned minister withdrew his resignation while the chief minister declared that the attempt to topple his government failed.

The assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania today disqualified all the six Congress MLAs who made the cross-voting. The MLAs include Rajinder Rana, Sudhir Sharma, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Devinder Kumar Bhutoo, Ravi Thakur, and Chetanya Sharma. The speaker cited the defying of the party whip to vote in favour of the government on the Finance Bill yesterday, constituting a violation of the anti-defection laws for the disqualification of the MLAs

However, with the disqualification of MLAs, the Congress government in the state is now back from the brink of collapse caused by the MLAs’ cross-voting.