Congress Veteran Digvijaya Singh Attributes Himachal Pradesh Political Crisis to BJP's "Contract" to Topple Governments

Digvijaya Singh, a veteran Congress politician, seemed to be aiming his criticism at the BJP, saying that those who had "taken the contract of toppling governments" are to blame for the current political situation in his party's home state of Himachal Pradesh.

Speaking with reporters on Friday night in Morena, Madhya Pradesh, he said that action against Congress rebels in Himachal Pradesh will be conducted when it was opportune.

This week's controversy was started by six Congress MLAs in Himachal Pradesh who supported BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha election for the state's lone seat.

These six Congress MLAs were disqualified by Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania on Thursday for allegedly disobeying a party whip during casting assembly votes on the state budget.

Digvijaya Singh responded to a question about why the Congress was not acting against the rebels in Himachal Pradesh with the simple statement, "It (action) will happen when the (appropriate) time comes." Pratibha Singh, the head of the Himachal Pradesh Congress, said on Friday that if the MLAs' complaints had been resolved sooner rather than later, the political crisis in the hill state may have been avoided.

Digvijaya Singh said, "These are the actions of the same conspirators who have taken the contract to topple governments, but the government is still intact," when questioned about her remarks. The Rajya Sabha member of the Congress has arrived in Morena, in the Chambal area, to greet the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra headed by Rahul Gandhi, which is expected to arrive in Madhya Pradesh this afternoon.

In response to a query, Singh said that, in the most recent assembly elections, the Congress had won the most seats in the Chambal area.

He said that the Congress would attempt to regain this sector in the next elections when questioned about the party's loss of the Morena Lok Sabha seat since 1996.

Singh said, "The party's Central Election Committee (CEC) will make the decision in this regard" about the choice of candidates for the next Lok Sabha elections. The screening committee has already met, and the CEC will now make a decision." Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is expected to depart from Rajasthan's Dholpur district at about 1:30 pm on Saturday and go to Madhya Pradesh's Morena district, according to a party official.