Pushed CM to bolster Congress, now BJP stronger: PCC Chief

Shimla|New Delhi: A day after the tenuous truce in the faction-ridden Himachal Pradesh Congress that barely kept the Sukhvinder Singh government afloat, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Pratibha Singh took a swipe at the chief minister and suggested that the party's organisational preparedness ahead of the general election is not on a par with that of the BJP.

The comments came amid speculation about her minister son Vikramaditya Singh holding an unpublicised meeting with the six rebel Congress MLAs, many of them close to the Pratibha-Vikramaditya camp, in Panchkula on his way to Delhi for "official work".

"From day 1, I had been telling the CM we would be able to face the upcoming election only if he strengthens the (Congress) organisation. We can see a lot of difficulties on the ground - as per the directions of PM Modi, BJP is going to do a lot of things," the PCC chief told media persons in Shimla on Friday. "We are on a weak footing there. I urged him (CM ) again and again we need to strengthen and the party needs to be organised... I can say that it is a difficult time. Still, we have to contest elections and win."


She further said, "A lot of things remain to be done in Congress...It is true that BJP's working is better than ours."

Singh said she intended to take up the matter with the Congress central leadership, particularly the Gandhis.

While her comments, coming a day after the All India Congress Committee (AICC) observers announced a six-member coordination committee would be formed. with both the CM and PCC chief in it, also seen as a message that neither the stability of the state government nor the CM should be taken for granted.

Asked about the AICC observers expressing the hope that CM Sukhu could continue for five years, Singh said, "Observer ke bolne se kya hota hai (How does it matter what observers say)? Observers want this to happen. It is difficult to say what people want and what will happen."

On whether she would consider moving towards the BJP, she said, "I have spent my entire life in the Congress. We started from the Congress party. We affiliate with the Congress ideology. I can't say what can happen tomorrow".