Talks with Cong, BJP off: Sukh Ram

Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC) leader Sukh Ram has announced that talks for an alliance with the Congress and BJP in the Himachal Pradesh Ass...

Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC) leader Sukh Ram has announced that talks for an alliance with the Congress and BJP in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections have failed. His party will now form a third front along with the CPI, CPI(M), Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party and other like-minded outfits and contest all the 68 Vidhan Sabha seats.

Disclosing this at a hurriedly called press conference here on his arrival from Delhi today, Sukh Ram said that six parties had agreed, in principle, to jointly contest the elections and the HVC would work out the modalities. Talks were also on with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), he added.

On the issue of withdrawing support to the NDA Government at the Centre, he said a decision would be taken at the state-level party executive committee meeting to be held here tomorrow.

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Ruling out a merger with the Congress or BJP and any truck with state Congress leader Virbhadra Singh, the HVC leader said Virbhadra was, in fact, the main hurdle in working out an alliance with the Congress.

‘‘I had a meeting with AICC general secretary Mohsina Kidwai in Delhi yesterday and told her that the HVC could not wait any longer if a decision on a tie-up with the Congress was kept in abeyance. We are running out of time and can’t wait,’’ he said.

In reply to a question, Sukh Ram said the HVC had its own manifesto which contained political and economic programmes for the people of Himachal. ‘‘We are promising betterment of the economy and jobs for the unemployed.’’

Flaying the BJP for pushing the state into a debt trap by following disastrous financial policies, he said it would be difficult to retrive the situation unless strong measures were taken.