LS polls: Sukhu, Dy CM launch Congress campaign, say govt will last full term

Shimla: For the first time after the rebellion in the party and six disqualified Congress MLAs joining the BJP, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu reached Kutlehar – the constituency of party’s rebel Devinder Kumar Bhutto to start Congress’s election campaign.

Though the elections to four Lok Sabha seats and bypoll in the six Assembly constituencies are still far away, Sukhu started travelling to the districts to throw a direct challenge to the BJP, and also rebels---all of them now BJP candidates to get re-elected to the House.

State’s Deputy Chief Minister, who hails from Una also shared the stage with Chief Minister to give a strong message of unity in the party following it had sunk into crisis after cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha and later revolt of six MLAs.

The Congress strength in the state Assembly has come down to 34 against 40 and the party is in desperate need to get at least one MLA elected to the House for giving stability to the government, already at the verge of collapse.

Addressing a public meeting Chief Minister accused the rebels of “sell-out” and claimed that a sum of at least Rs 15 crore each has been exchanged hands.

He accused the BJP of engineering dissidence in the Congress to topple a duly elected government in the state.

He ridiculed former Chief Minister Jairam Thakur,who he said was talking of forming the government in the state after June 4 where the number of BJP MLAs will eventually come down to only 25 once the elections are over.

He said none of the turncoats who have been given tickets by the BJP will get elected again. They have committed the biggest betrayal with the people. The Congress government with its absolute majority will last for 5 years.

“We do not have the power of money, we have the power of honesty, morality, and the courage of the people. We have proof that six Congress rebels and three independents have been sold for a fixed sum. There is already investigation going on and the truth will come before the people very soon” he said

He also asked who paid the hotel bills, and with whose money the helicopters were taken, all this is now coming to light. All of them will go behind bars, the Chief Minister declared.

He asked the people to teach them a lesson and ensure that they lose their security deposits.

Sukhu said the party has done its exercise and is already underway to announce a list of the candidates for the Lok Sabha and state Assembly bypoll.