Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley, who was addressing a press conference in Shimla on Tuesday afternoon, demanded an investigation by a Special Investigation Team on allegations that Singh received kickbacks, and facilitated huge cash deposits in favour of his business partner Anand Chauhan.
With the party bagging its first victory in the hill state without the charismatic presence of Virbhadra Singh, Sukhu's elevation makes it clear that the party is ready to move on.
The veteran leader breathed his last at Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) in Shimla at 3.40 am, senior medical superintendent Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) Dr. Janak Raj said.
Virbhadra Singh, who steered Congress to power in the assembly polls, was on Tuesday sworn-in as Himachal Pradesh chief minister for a record sixth time, heading a ten-member ministry.
In a scathing letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Bharatiya Janata Party's senior leader Arun Jaitley has made a number of allegations against Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.
Union Minister Virbhadra Singh on Tuesday resigned in the wake of a Himachal Pradesh court framing corruption charges against him.
He was admitted to the hospital on Sunday after he complaints of breathing problem.
Encouraged by the unprecedented success of the Gujarat Gaurav Yatra of Narendra Modi, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has launched Vishwas Yatra.
Deciding on the chief ministerial face who can bind the party going forward is the immediate challenge for the Congress.
The BJP launched an all-out and aggressive personalised campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, but voters went by local rather than national issues.
Virbhadra Singh, who steered the Congress to power in Himachal Pradesh, will be sworn in as chief minister for the sixth time in a function at historic Ridge Ground in Shimla on December 25.
Being part of Rampur-Bushashr princely state once ruled by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh's ancestors, poll result in Himachal Pradesh's Rohru Assembly seat was out the day he files his nomination.
The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Thursday restrained the Central Bureau of Investigation from arresting Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his wife Pratibha Singh in connection with the disproportionate assets case but allowed the enquiry in the matter to proceed.
The Bharatiya Janata Party legal cell in-charge Satyapal Jain on Wednesday asked Virbhadra Singh, who resigned as union minister in the wake of a Himachal Pradesh court framing corruption charges against him, to 'honour the court order'.
Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister and senior Congress leader Virbhadra Singh on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of targeting him as it is losing ground in the poll-bound state. "BJP is targeting me as it is losing ground in Himachal Pradesh, where assembly polls are round the corner." Singh said while addressing a press conference in Shimla.
However, state Congress chief Vidya Stokes' name figures in the list of ministers proposed to the party high command, he said.
While his performance is commendable, the bribery charges against him just don't go away.
The notice was issued to Singh after the Commission received a report that the chief minister had protested against the detention of a vehicle with beacon light and had said that it was illegal on part of the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police to do so. "You had cautioned the officials to behave properly as you had posted them to the district and had further remarked that the model code of conduct is not a law and I know what the law is," the EC said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has submitted a "chargesheet" to President Pranab Mukherjee demanding the ouster of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh over graft allegations.
Singh's wife Pratibha Singh was also summoned as accused.
Singh had vacated the Shimla (rural) seat for his son Vikramaditya Singh and shifted to Arki.
If the BJP doesn't do something quickly, Anurag Thakur and P K Dhumal will be the ones having a quiet last laugh.
In a setback to Union minister Virbhadra Singh and his wife Pratibha, the Himachal Pradesh high court on Saturday declined to stay the couple's trial in a case of alleged corruption and asked them to appear before the special court. The high court also gave no relief to Singh and his wife on their plea to quash the case and refer it to the Central Bureau of Investigation. The case relates to an audio CD which was released by former minister Vijay Singh Mankotia.
The court also dismissed petitions of his wife Pratibha Singh, son Vikramaditya Singh and another person.
The IO is also understood to have confronted him with some documents the agency had seized and recovered in this case of alleged disproportionate assets.
Sukhu, the 58-year-old MLA from Nadaun in Hamirpur district, was elected the the CLP leader and will take oath as chief minister Sunday, the party said.
Officials said the agency has issued fresh summons to Singh as it wants to record his statement under the PMLA.
Even as Kiran Kumar Reddy has quit the Congress and resigned as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, protesting against the division of the state, veteran Congress leader and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh says he, too, will quit the party if its central leadership removes him from the post of chief minister, after the elections.
The chargesheet, filed before Special Judge Santosh Snehi Mann, names six accused, including the former chief minister and his wife.
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.
Congress sources said internal surveys indicate that the party is likely to get a majority in Himachal polls leading to increasing the number of contenders for the chief minister's post.
Quitting as Union minister on Tuesday, Virbhadra Singh has now set his eyes firmly on the next assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh later this year. These tidings may stir mixed emotions in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party there
Former minister Virbhadra Singh, who resigned from the Union Cabinet after charges were framed against him in a corruption case, has been made the chairman of the Congress' campaign committee for Himachal Pradesh, ahead of the assembly polls in the state. Singh, a five time chief minister, had earlier said that his resignation should not be seen as an admission of guilt as he was going to fight the case to its logical conclusion.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi also appointed Harsh Mahajan, Rajender Rana, Pawan Kajal and Vinay Kumar as the new working presidents of the Himachal Pradesh PCC.
As initial trends indicated a Congress victory in Himachal Pradesh, party veteran Virbhadra Singh said on Thursday that he had put in his "best efforts" in the polls and it was for Sonia Gandhi to decide the party's chief minister.
Speaking to ANI, Pratibha Singh said, "After all the big responsibilities were given to me by Sonia Gandhi ji, she told me that she has elected me as the party's state president where I would have to visit in all 68 constituencies and also to make sure that the party wins in the state. I did that work with utmost sincerity and the result is in before all of us today."
Nitish Kumar was sworn in as Bihar's Chief Minister for a record 10th time, extending his tenure and joining the list of longest-serving CMs in India.
President Pranab Mukerjee was on Thursday accorded a warm welcome as he arrived in the state for his five-day sojourn amid the serene climes of 'The Retreat', surrounded with thick pine forests near Shimla.
With the induction of seven members, the strength of the cabinet rose to nine.
