A day after Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh received a flak from Delhi High Court over dismissal of the FIRs registered by CBI and Enforcement Directorate, he has called a meeting of Congress legislative Party on July 10 at his official residence Oakover, Shimla.
Industries and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Agnihotri on Tuesday said the Chief Minister would preside over the meeting and all the members of ClP had been asked to attend.
The meeting holds significance as the opposition BJP has taken an aggressive stand against Virbhadra Singh after Delhi High Court’s order declining his pleas for quashing of FIRs registered against him in case of corruption and money laundering.
ClP is also expected to discuss the presidential elections and the next assembly elections in the state.
Party sources said the ClP is likely to pass a resolution expressing solidarity with Virbhadra Singh in the wake of Delhi High Court’s verdict. A whip for presidential elections may also be issued if a need is felt for the same.
There are currently 67 members in the Himachal Pradesh State Assembly, as the ruling Congress had lost one of its members in May, 2017 when cabinet minister Karan Singh died after illness. In 68 member house, Congress has a strength of 35, while BJP has 28 members. The rest four members are independent.
In the Himachal Pradesh assembly, the value of each vote of member for presidential election is 51, as per Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Secretary Sunder lal Verma. While the lines of Congress and BJP were quite clear for presidential election, the stand of the 4 independents was still not clear. Although two independents have declared their support to NDA candidate Ramnath Kovind and also their plans of getting in the BJP party fold yet their applications for sitting arrangement in the BJP gallery was yet to reach Vidhan Sabha Secretariat.
Both the presidential candidates, NDA’s Ramnath Kovind and UPA’s Meira Kumar are likely to visit Himachal Pradesh for seeking support of the members in the coming week. Meira Kumar is likely to visit Himachal Pradesh on July 9, while Kovind may come on July 14.