The delegation included Union Minister J P Nadda, former state chief ministers Shanta Kumar and Prem Kumar Dhumal, party MPs from the state, besides BJP's state unit incharge Shrikant Sharma and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) president Anurag Thakur
Stepping up its attack on Virbhadra Singh, a high-level BJP delegation on Wednesday met President Pranab Mukherjee and handed over a memorandum demanding removal of the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister after CBI and Enforcement Directorate booked him for graft.
The delegation included Union Minister J P Nadda, former state chief ministers Shanta Kumar and Prem Kumar Dhumal, party MPs from the state, besides BJP's state unit incharge Shrikant Sharma and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) president Anurag Thakur. "This is probably the first time in the history of the country that raids have been conducted at the residence of a sitting chief minister. The Administration and the government is in a coma. No work is happening and chief minister is busy defending himself.
"The party is busy defending him and party leaders are fighting the race for his succession. In such a situation a small hill state like Himachal is suffering. We have demanded that the President remove Virbhadra Singh on moral grounds," Shanta Kumar told reporters after meeting the President. He said morality demanded that Singh resigned on his own.
However, since he has not stepped down, the BJP leaders have come to the President to seek his removal on moral grounds. "He should have resigned on moral grounds or Congress party should have removed him on morality. Since nothing has happened, we have been forced to come to the highest Constitutional authority, the President of India. We are hopeful that the President will consider our plea and provide justice to Himachal and its people by giving us administration," he said.
Kumar said," While one person has done corruption, the entire state and its people are being made to suffer, as funds provided by the Central government for welfare of the poor are not being utilised.
"There is no government or administration. It is in a coma," he said.
State BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti and party MPs Ram Swaroop, Virender Kashyap and Vimla Kashyap and other party leaders from the state were also part of the delegation.The memorandum to the President alleged that Singh was targeting BJP leaders in the state "out of frustration". "Himachal BJP feels that Virbhadra Singh should be removed from the chief minister's post as he has no right to be in that position. BJP demands that the corrupt, useless, Himachal Pradesh government that is working with the intention of political vendatta be dismissed," the memorandum said.
It also listed out alleged scams that took place under Singh's watch and FIRs registered against him. The ED has filed a case under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against the Congress leader after taking cognisance of a criminal complaint filed by the CBI in this regard in September. The agency is investigating whether Singh and his family members allegedly amassed assets worth Rs 6.1 crore disproportionate to their known sources of income between 2009 and 2011 when he was the Union Minister of Steel.
CBI suspects that during the period, Singh invested Rs 6.1 crore in life insurance policies in his and his family members' names through an LIC agent claiming the money to be his agricultural income.
It alleged there was an attempt by Singh to legitimise the ill-gotten money as agricultural income by filing revised income tax returns in 2012
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