U-Turn By Virbhadra Singh's Son Hours After Quitting As Himachal Minister

In signs of a thaw in the infighting-riddled Himachal Pradesh unit of the Congress, state minister Vikramaditya Singh has taken back his resignation hours after tendering it. Six Congress MLAs had cross-voted in favour of the BJP candidate in the Rajya Sabha election on Tuesday, leading to the party suffering a stunning defeat.

Amid a possible threat to the survival of the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government, Mr Singh had announced his resignation as the Public Works minister on Wednesday morning. The minister had accused Mr Sukhu of “negligence” towards MLAs and disrespecting his late father and former chief minister Virbhadra Singh. 

Stating that he is taking back his resignation after a day of high drama, Mr Singh said, “I have spoken to the observers that were sent by the party. The organisation is more important than one individual. Keeping the organisation strong is every individual’s responsibility. In the larger interest of the party and the unity of the party, I will not press my resignation that was rejected by the chief minister earlier today.”

When reporters asked him whether this meant the threat to the government was over, the minister said, “There was no crisis to begin with. It was a creation. A solution can be found to everything if people work together and take a positive approach. We are here to serve the people of the state and governing is the way to do that. Strengthening the government and serving the people by doing so is everyone’s responsibility.”