Himachal crisis over? State Cong chief Pratibha Singh praises BJP

Amid the political uncertainty in Himachal Pradesh, state Congress chief Pratibha Singh on Friday asserted that the Bharatiya Janata Party's work is better than that of the grand old party.

"A lot of things remain to be done in Congress. As a MP, I visit my constituency and try to interact with the local people and solve their problems. It is true that the BJP's working is better than ours," the Himachal Pradesh Congress chief told ANI on Friday.

Pratibha Singh further said that she has conveyed her message to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and asked him to strengthen the organisation.

"From day 1, I had been telling the CM that we would be able to face the upcoming election only if he strengthens the organisation. This is a very tough situation for us. 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," she added.

The Himachal Pradesh Congress chief further said, "We are on weak footing there. I urged him again and again that 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."

Earlier on Thursday, Pratibha and her MLA son Vikramaditya Singh continued to exert pressure on CM Sukhu, saying they had highlighted issues they thought 'were not correct'.

Pratibha, wife of former Himachal CM Virbhadra Singh, appeared to back the six rebel MLAs who had cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha elections, saying it was natural for MLAs to be upset.

"Definitely, why not? When it has been more than a year and you take no cognisance or listen to them, it is natural for them to be upset. Had you sat them down, talked to them and found out a solution, this situation would not have occurred," Pratibha said, answering a query.

Partibha Singh's son and cabinet minister Vikramaditya Singh, who agreed not to press on his resignation, attended a meeting with the Chief Minister on Friday.

Meanwhile Leader of opposition Jairam Thakur says the Congress government will not last out its full term.