Cong, BJP spar over political crisis in Himachal

NEW DELHI: Accusing the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh of “abetting” mafia linked to liquor, forest and construction, BJP on Saturday said its fight in the state was against corruption even as Congress alleged that the opposition was trying to destabilise the Virbhadra Singh government the same way it did to the one in Uttarakhand.
A day after the meeting of its newly-constituted executive in Himachal ended, BJP’s state in-charge Shrikant Sharma hit out at Congress allegations, saying it should introspect why its members were “running away” from Rahul Gandhi's leadership.
“The party (Congress) is weakening like a termite-infested tree. Its leadership should introspect why the (Congress) MLAs and other leaders were leaving the party,” he said.
Rejecting chief minister Virbhadra Singh’s charge that the corruption cases against him were motivated, Shrikant Sharma said they dated back to the time of Congress government and the chief minister was making “desperate” allegations because he has realised that he could go to jail any time.
“Virbhadra Singh should resign on his own.,” Shrikant Sharma said.
Congress, meanwhile, on Saturday sought to put its flock together in Himachal Pradesh with all its state leaders pledging to unitedly fight attempts to destabilise the Virbhadra Singh government.
The meeting was chaired by AICC general secretary Ambika Soni.