Virbhadra Singh’s legacy shouldn’t be ignored, Himachal Congress chief Pratibha to party brass

Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Pratibha Singh has told the party high command that it would be detrimental to the interests of the party if the legacy and contribution of late Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh was ignored. “Virbhadra Singh’s legacy is the thousands of people who have been with the party for many decades because of him. I told Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge that these people should not be ignored as it will damage the party,” said the HPCC president after returning from an eventful meeting with the party high command in Delhi.

“Such people should be adjusted in the organisation as and when it is reconstituted, no matter who is the state party president. These people have given their blood and sweat to the party and they should not feel ignored,” said Pratibha Singh, who seems to have accepted that she would be replaced as HPCC president.

Just like all senior ministers, who attended the Delhi meeting, Pratibha Singh also demanded that the new president should be an individual of significant political standing in the state. In addition, she said the person chosen to lead the party should be acceptable to all. “We can’t have someone’s rubber stamp as the party president. Such a person will be harmful for the interests of the party,” she said.

She also apprised the party leadership of her dismay over the delay in the reconstitution of the HPCC, which is lying defunct for the last nine months. “I told Gandhi that I had met Kharge and state in-charge Rajni Patil so many times regarding the reconstitution of the organisation but it kept getting delayed for some reason. Now, the panchayat elections are just a few months away and we still do not have an active organisation. Hopefully, it will be reconstituted shortly,” she said. She pointed out that the BJP had elected their state president and had an active organisation and was ready for the panchayat elections.

As reported by The Tribune a couple of days back, Pratibha Singh confirmed that senior ministers apprised the party high command of their resentments and problems. “One has to share their pain and problems with someone. Just like children share their problems with their parents, the ministers also spoke openly about their problems before Gandhi and Kharge. They said the situation wasn’t good and improvement was needed,” she said.