“Accountability will be fixed…will not allow government to be toppled”: Jairam Ramesh on political crisis in Himachal

New Delhi: Amid the political crisis in Himachal Pradesh triggered by cross-voting by six of its MLAs in Rajya Sabha polls, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has said that some senior party leaders are in the hill state to meet the legislators and a report will be presented to party chief Mallikarjun Kharge.

He accused the BJP of trying to topple the Congress government in the state and said the leadership will not shy away from harsh decisions as the party is supreme.

“Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and AICC in-charge Rajeev Shukla are there. They have spoken with the Congress president. He has told them to meet and listen to all MLAs about their grievances and demands,” Jairam Ramesh said.

“Cross-voting took place. But the conspiracy to topple the Congress government…what steps are to be taken by the party to tackle this ‘Operation Lotus’ – Congress president has told these senior colleagues to meet everyone and listen to what they have to say and present him a report at the earliest,” he added.

हिमाचल की जनता ने PM मोदी को नकार कर कांग्रेस पार्टी को स्पष्ट बहुमत दिया था।

जहां हम अपनी गारंटी लागू करने में लगे थे, वहीं मोदी जी अपनी गारंटी पूरी करने में लगे थे।

मोदी जी की गारंटी है- कांग्रेस की सरकारों को गिराओ।

लेकिन जनता ने कांग्रेस को जो जनादेश दिया है, हम उसके साथ… pic.twitter.com/iiUT7nADHX

— Congress (@INCIndia) February 28, 2024

He said the priority is to save the Congress government and added that accountability will be fixed over the recent developments.

“Cross-voting is unfortunate. Our Observers will discuss this in their report. Accountability will definitely be fixed. Accountability was fixed in Haryana…There are two parts of this report – first, why did the cross-voting happen here and how was it allowed to happen. Second, what steps should be taken to save the government and uphold the mandate? When the report comes, discussions will be held and decision will be made. Until then, all reports and speculations are baseless.”

Jairam Ramesh said the Congress had received a clear mandate in December 2022 assembly polls.

“The people of Himachal Pradesh had rejected the PM, Jagat Prakash Nadda, Anurag Thakur, and Jairam Thakur. The mandate was for the Congress party…So, this mandate should be respected…Modi government has just one guarantee – topple all Congress Governments. We will not let this happen,” he said.

LIVE: Congress party briefing by Shri @Jairam_Ramesh at AICC HQ, New Delhi. https://t.co/j97GlRVrBl

— Congress (@INCIndia) February 28, 2024

The Congress general secretary said a report will be presented to the Congress president by the observers at the earliest after listening to everyone.

“Based on that further steps will definitely be taken. Maybe some harsh decisions will have to be made but we won’t shy away from that. The organization is supreme. Congress party is supreme,” he said.

The Congress government in the state faces a crisis after six party MLAs cross-voted in the election to the Rajya Sabha seat from the state on Tuesday and party nominee Abhishek Manu Singhvi lost.

The Congress has 40 MLAs while the BJP has 25 in the 68-member state assembly. The remaining three seats are held by independents.