With the fresh registration of a preliminary inquiry by the CBI against Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, pressure has started building once again on the octogenarian leader to quit.
A battery of former Cabinet Ministers and senior leaders, including Gulab Singh Thakur, a former Congress Minister and Vidhan Sabha Speaker, BJP leaders Ravinder Singh Ravi, Rajiv Bindal and Narendra Bragta have demanded that the Chief Minister quit to facilitate an impartial inquiry into the corruption allegations against him.
The BJP leaders expressed surprise that Mr. Singh was now holding former Chief Minister and their leader Prem Kumar Dhumal and his family responsible for the registration of the case. Mr. Singh’s income from his orchards, by his own admission, had gone up from a few lakhs to crores of rupees when he was Union Steel Minister.
The Himachal Lokhit Party questioned the role of the Chief Minister and announced withdrawal of support to the government.
