New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday hosted the new Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and asked him to keep 'the flock together', make public welfare a priority, take care of party workers and implement the 10 pre-poll promises in a phased manner.
Though Kharge had attended Sukhu’s oath-taking ceremony in capital Shimla on Dec. 11, the CM, along with the 39 other newly-elected MLAs, including his deputy Mukesh Agnihotri, met the Congress chief to discuss the next steps like cabinet expansion and selection of the Assembly Speaker.
“We are committed to progress, prosperity and good governance in Himachal Pradesh,” Kharge told the newly-elected MLAs in his brief address. It is learnt Kharge discussed the 10 pre-poll promises with the CM. He also asked the lawmakers and the state team to remain united and keep the workers, who worked hard for the party’s victory in mind.
On Dec. 11, Sukhu and Agnihotri had taken oath. According to party insiders, the Himachal cabinet can have up to 12 ministers, including the CM. As the cabinet expansion is imminent, intense lobbying is on for the remaining berths in the ministry, said the sources.
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According to sources, the probable names being discussed for inclusion in the Sukhu government are Anirudh Singh, Sudhir Sharma, Kuldeep Rathore, Chaitanya Sharma, Dhaniram Shandilya, Chandra Kumar, Jagat Negi, Rohit Thakur and Sundar Thakur.
Sukhu recently appointed Gokul Butail, who headed the party’s war room during the poll campaign, as advisor to the CM on IT and Innovation, with a cabinet rank. Among the names doing the rounds for the new Speaker are Dhaniram Shandilya, Chandra Kumar, Jagat Negi and Kuldeep Rathore, the sources said.
"The Speaker has to be amongst the senior most and experienced MLAs," said an AICC functionary. According to party insiders, the first cabinet meeting is likely to be held after the three-day assembly session from Dec 22-24 and would focus on clearing the top most promise, reviving the old pension scheme. “That we will have to honour as Priyanka Gandhi had made the announcement during her campaign,” said a state leader.
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The other promises include, free treatment up to Rs 10 lakh, farm loan waiver up to Rs 3 lakh, Rs 5 per litre subsidy to milk-cooperatives, Rs 4 lakh assistance to 3 lakh families of Covid victims, strict anti-corruption laws and scrutiny of corruption over past 27 years, including jail to guilty, hiring for 5 lakh government jobs and ending contract system within one year of getting elected, additional 10 lakh jobs by 2024 of which 5 lakh jobs reserved for women and an unemployment monthly allowance of Rs 2,000 for the youth.
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Before Sukhu was named the CM, state unit chief Pratibha Singh had claimed the top state government post reminding the high command that the elections were contested in the name of her husband and six term former CM late Virbahdra Singh. Interestingly, Pratibha Singh and her MLA son Vikramaditya Singh, who were present at the meeting with Kharge, had met former party chief Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday.
