The Hindu : National : I will not quit even if I lose: Virbhadra

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Sunday, Dec 23, 2007
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I will not quit even if I lose: Virbhadra

taff Correspondent

“Two months still to go for end of my tenure”

Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra Singh

SHIMLA: Still not able to come to terms with early Elections in the State, Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Saturday squarely blamed the Election Commission for creating a Constitutional crisis and bringing all development work to a halt by imposing a prolonged model code of conduct.

Mr. Singh categorically said that he would not quit office even if the election results were unfavourable to him and his party lost the elections, “since two more months are there to go for the completion of my original tenure”.

He vehemently blamed the Election Commission for imposing an extensive code of conduct in the State bringing all progress to a standstill.

“The Commission had no right to conduct elections without the consent of the State Government and now the Governor cannot dissolve the previous Assembly without the consent of the Council of Ministers,” said Mr. Singh threatening to call a Cabinet meeting and a Vidhan Sabha session soon even after the new Assembly gets elected after the counting of votes on December 28.

Although calling it an individual initiative, the Chief Minister seconded the petition filed by his Cabinet colleague Sat Mahajan, who has approached the High Court for putting off the counting of votes till the present Assembly completes its full term.

The Election Commission had advanced the elections this time by two months due to severe cold and snow in February in the tribal areas of the hill State. The three Congress tribal MLAs had earlier approached the High Court for simultaneous and early elections. The Commission time and again had maintained that it was due to this reason that the early elections were ordered.

CM questions role of media

A visibly perturbed Chief Minister also accused the media of helping his opponents led by Prem Kumar Dhumal in the just held Assembly elections. He said the bureau chiefs of some vernacular media were even avoiding his press conferences. “Their accreditation with the Government here should be struck off,” he warned.

Mr. Singh also questioned the genuineness of a national news channel’s exit poll in favour of the Opposition in the State. “Out of 5,946 booths spread all over the State, how many were visited by the channel?” he asked.

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