Poll to be fought as per high command’s will: Kaul Singh
DHARAMSHALA: Defending the continuance of Sukhvinder Singh Sukkhu as chief of Himachal Pradesh Congress, state health minister Kaul Singh Thakur, on Friday, said the issue has now been settled.
“Sukhu has been appointed as the state unit chief by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi. We will follow the high command’s decision,” he said.
He was replying to a question on chief minister Virbhadra Singh’s repeated calls for removing Sukkhu from his position.
The minister also said that leadership for the upcoming assembly election will be decided by the party high command. “Only a person who is given charge by the high command will lead the party in the elections. This time, the election can also be contested under a collective leadership,” Thakur said.
VIRBHADRA ONLY HP LEADER CAPABLE TO LEAD PARTY: RANJAN
Two days after Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh took a dig at Sushilkumar Shinde, Congress in-charge for upcoming Himachal polls, Ranjeet Ranjan, who is the co-incharge for party affairs, stepped up efforts to placate him.
Virbhadra has been pressing party high command to oust Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu from the position of state Congress chief.
Ranjan reached Shimla on Friday morning and later accompanied Virbhadra to Una. Unhappy with Shinde for announcing that there will be no change in the party organisation, Virbhadra had said that Shinde “was not everything the Congress” and that “he was not the final authority”.
In a visible attempt to placate him, Ranjan heaped praises on Virbhadra and said he is the only leader from Himachal who has the capability to lead the party.
“To run a government, one needs to be capable and Virbhadra Singh is fully competent in this regard,” she said.
CAP CONTROVERSY UNFORTUNATE: THAKUR
Meanwhile, Thakur termed the marron cap controversy involving Virbhadra as “unfortunate”.
The Opposition has been targeting the chief minister after he refused to wear a maroon Himachali cap during an official function that was also attended by Union health minister JP Nadda on Wednesday.
While the chief minister accepted the shawl that Thakur presented him, he refused to don the marron cap.
Over the years, in Himachal politics marron cap has become symbolic of the BJP while a green-band cap is associated with the Congress.
“This is very unfortunate. There shouldn’t be any politics over the colour of a cap,” Thakur said. He added that maroon cap is not a trademark for the BJP. “Virbhadra Singh, his son Vikramaditya Singh, and I occasionally do wear maroon caps,” he said, adding that “whether it is Kinnauri, Kullavi or Bushehri cap, they are all related to Himachal Pradesh”.
Only a person who is given charge by high command will lead party in the elections. This time, the election can also be contested under a collective leadership.
KAUL SINGH THAKUR, Himachal Pradesh health minister