Remove Himachal chief minister: union leader

An employees' union leader has demanded removal of Virbhadra Singh, accusing him of using government machinery for his wife.

A prominent employees' union leader has demanded the removal of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, accusing him of using government machinery for his wife, contesting the Lok Sabha poll.

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"The chief minister is openly flouting the election code of conduct by using the state government machinery in his wife's constituency," alleged Gopal Dass Verma, president of the All India Non-Gazetted Employees' Union.

"Almost all the state ministers and bureaucrats have been pressed into service in the Mandi parliamentary constituency for the chief minister's wife Pratibha Singh," Verma told reporters.

He said he had appealed to the Election Commission to remove Virbhadra Singh from his post as was done in the case of Haryana police chief M.S. Malik, whose wife is also contesting from the Sonepat seat.

Pratibha Singh, who is contesting on the Congress ticket, takes on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Maheshwar Singh.

The BJP leader had defeated Pratibha Singh in the last elections. Political observers expect the contest to be a tough one this time.