No tribute to Virbhadra at CM’s events; Pratibha takes exception

Shimla: Congress veteran Pratibha Singh is miffed at the absence of pictures of six-time Himachal Pradesh chief minister, late Virbhadra Singh, also her husband, from the banners and posters of the chief minister’s programmes. She also took exception to his name not being mentioned during the events of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu in Rampur and Rohru assembly constituencies. Sukhu visited the two constituencies over October 2 and 3 and stayed overnight in both places.

“What to talk about others, our people could have come forward and said that we would make 20 banners with Virbhadra Singh’s photograph. This shows lack of foresight and small mindset,” Pratibha Singh, a former state Congress president said in a clip that has surfaced on social media. “It has been four and a half years since Virbhadra Singh left us, and we have forgotten his face so early,” she said.

The politician said Congress’s ideology was never marred with factionalism and division. “If we go to Nahan or Sirmaur, we do not start any function or meeting without mentioning the name of Y S Parmar, the architect of Himachal and first chief minister of the state,” she said.

The leader insisted that remembering Virbhadra Singh and making the new generation aware of his contribution towards the state is the party’s duty. Rohru and Rampur assembly constituencies are known bastions of the family of Virbhadra Singh, a former ruler of the erstwhile Bushahar State of Himachal Pradesh.

While Rampur is Virbhadra’s hometown, he won five elections from Rohru. Congress MLAs from Rohru and Rampur, Mohan Lal Brakta and Nand Lal, conceded that Virbhadra Singh’s photo should have figured in the banners. Earlier also, Pratibha Singh and her son, Vikramaditya Singh, the public works minister in the current government, objected to the apparent ignoring of Virbhadra Singh and raised the matter with the Congress

high command.

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