Himachal CM Sukhwinder Sukhu denies reports of resignation, says will last 5 years

Himachal CM Sukhu denies reports of resignation, says will last 5 years

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has denied that he has resigned as speculation mount over the survival of the Congress government in the hill stare following a rebellion by at least six party MLAs.

Also Read: Himachal Pradesh crisis: 15 BJP MLAs suspended, House adjourned till noon

The clarification came within hours of BJP leader and leader of opposition Jairam Thakur said. "This government has lost all the moral rights to stay in power. As far as I have been informed, CM Sukhu has also presented his resignation inside the House. Maybe the high command has asked him I am not sure..."

The chief minister said the party would fight it out and would last the whole five-year term.

Also Read: Himachal crisis deepens as minister Vikramaditya resigns

Earlier in the day, his PWD minister Vikramaditya Singh resigned, blaming the CM for the crisis.

The government was thrown into a crisis after six party MLAs went against the party whip and voted for rival BJP’s candidate, handing over an improbable win to the opposition party.

BJP's Harsh Mahajan won the state's lone Rajya Sabha seat on February 27, defeating Congress' Abhishek Manu Singhvi, with six party MLAs voting for the rival candidate.

Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania, on February 28, suspended 15 BJP MLAs, including Leader of Opposition (LoP) and former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, and adjourned the House till noon.

The suspension followed legislators' "disruptive behaviour" and chanting of slogans during the House proceedings, an ANI report said. State Parliamentary Affairs Minister moved a proposal in the House recommending the expulsion of the BJP MLAs following which the Speaker took the action and adjourned house proceedings till noon, states the report.

The 15 suspended BJP MLAs also include Vipin Singh Parmar, Randheer Sharma, Lokender Kumar, Vinod Kumar, Hans Raj, Janak Raj, Balbir Verma, Trilok Jamwal, Surender Shori, Deep Raj, Puran Thakur, Inder Singh Gandhi, Dileep Thakur, and Inder Singh Gandhi.