New Delhi, April 12
Former minister Sukh Ram, who was expelled from the Congress eight years ago after he was embroiled in a telecom scam, rejoined the party today.
Merging his Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC) with the Congress, Mr Sukh Ram also said he would not hold any public office till he was exonerated in the pending corruption cases against him. “I will not accept any public post and remain a mere worker of the Congress party till the pending cases against me are cleared,” he told mediapersons at the AICC headquarters soon after he rejoined the party.
The merger of Mr Sukh Ram’s party with the Congress follows months of negotiations between him and his one-time
bété-noir Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.
Congress sources said the two arch-rivals had decided to set aside their differences purely because of personal reasons.
Mr Sukh Ram, it is learnt, has pledged support to the Chief Minister’s wife Pratibha Singh, who is a Lok Sabha candidate from his home-town Mandi. Mr Virbhadra Singh, on his part, is learnt to have agreed to accommodate his son, Mr Anil Sharma, either in the Cabinet or as chairman of a powerful state corporation.
The former Telecommunications Minister recalled that he had left the Congress and formed his regional party because of certain compulsions. After Mr Sukh Ram set up the HVC following his expulsion, his party extended support to the NDA and helped the formation of a BJP government in Himachal Pradesh in 1998.
Although the state had been witnessing a direct battle between the BJP and the Congress, Mr Sukh Ram’s regional outfit turned out to be an effective third force with the HVC garnering a substantial vote
share in the state. Mr Sukh Ram’s personal contribution in the state as Telecommunications Minister stood him in good stead and ensured his electoral victory despite the corruption cases against him.
However, his relations with the NDA soured over the years, especially after the BJP split his party in the state.
Describing his return to the Congress as a “homecoming”, Mr Sukh Ram admitted that he had fallen out with the BJP as it failed to observe the “coalition dharma” as it was constantly conspiring to create fissures in the ranks of its allies.
Putting aside his past differences with the Congress, Mr Sukh Ram said he would now campaign jointly with the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister to ensure the defeat of the NDA.
