Unease in Himachal Congress, Pratibha Singh meets Mallikarjun Kharge

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, July 20

Signs of unease in the Himachal unit surfaced on Thursday with state chief Pratibha Singh meeting Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in the Capital and conveying to him that she was feeling “hurt and sidelined.”

The meeting took place in Kharge’s Parliament Complex office.

The Mandi Lok Sabha MP and wife of late Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh batted for the establishment of a coordination committee in the state for synergy between the government led by CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and the state organisation.

Seeks coordination committee

We ought to have a working coordination mechanism so that the party and the government can together track the implementation and timelines of the poll promises made to the people. —Pratibha Singh, Himachal Congresspresident

“We ought to have a working coordination mechanism so that the party and the government can together and track the implementation and timelines of the poll promises made to the people. Right now there is no such provision. We have raised the demand with the Congress chief,” Pratibha Singh told The Tribune after the meeting, where her son, Vikramaditya Singh, a minister in Himachal Government, was also present.

The two earlier met Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari in the Parliament House and submitted to him a list of structures – state and national highways and bridges – destroyed in the recent floods in Himachal. Mandi, Pratibha Singh’s segment, suffered maximum devastation.

In her meeting with Kharge, Pratibha also said that she was feeling “hurt and sidelined” so were Congress leaders who had been assured a suitable place in the government by the high command once the party came to power.

“When we were in the process of forming the government in Himachal, many leaders were assured suitable rewards and accommodation when the party came to power. Late CM Virbhadra Singh’s legacy was a major factor in elections. Now there is a need to carry everyone along and place loyal workers of the Congress in boards, corporations and other positions which are vacant, “ said Pratibha, adding that she had told the Congress chief about the need to balance “both sides (read late Virbhadra Singh’s and CM’s) in state politics on the eve of 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Pratibha also said that state Cabinet expansion was overdue and needed to be done “at the earliest since many months had lapsed already.”

Pratibha Singh has also sought an appointment with Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who will be in Madhya Pradesh for a rally on Friday. Vadra was Congress’ main face in Himachal elections which the party won decisively last December.