Congress takes out march in Shimla against BJP, Centre

Shimla, March 11

Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) took out a torch march here in the evening to protest the alleged attempts by the BJP and the Central government to topple the democratically elected government “through unconstitutional means”.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu, HPCC president Pratibha Singh, Cabinet ministers, Deputy Speaker, MLAs, various office-bearers and leaders participated in the procession. The procession started from the historic Ridge and culminated at Ambedkar Chowk, Chaura Maidan. Apart from slamming the BJP and the Central government, the Congress, under stress after the open rebellion by its now disqualified six MLAs, used the occasion to showcase it strength and unity. “An attempt has been made by the Central government to attack the democratically elected government by using unconstitutional means,” the Chief Minister said.

Echoing the thoughts of the Chief Minister, HPCC president Pratibha Singh said the protest was organised mainly to express anger against the Centre government for not extending help to the state at the time of need and hatching a conspiracy to overthrow the government. “The Centre did not respond to our pleas when the state was struck by the natural disaster last year. And now the attempts are being made to destabilise the government,” she said.