It is working very well. I am grateful to Sukh Ram who has shown immense faith in Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and also in me. Even after his resignation from the Government on the advise of the Prime Minister, Sukh Ram still holds Vajpayeeji in high esteem. Both my party and the HVC are committed tothe development of the state and fighting the feudal forces. The arrangement will continue for five years and even more, if needed.

Sukh Ram will never go back to the Congress. Why should he be going to a party which is degenerating? We were together at a series of public meetings and Sukh Ram publicly denied the possibilities of his joining the Congress or any rapprochement with it. He (Sukh Ram) also says that he is a grassroots leader and only rootless leaders merge their parties. And what makes me confident about the success of our alliance is that the Congress in Himachal Pradesh is on the verge of a major split.

The moment the high command starts sidelining Virbhadra Singh -- indications are already there -- he will hit back. In the process, he will split the party. In fact, there are already serious trouble in the PCC and some MLAs are very much in touch with me to jointhe BJP.

(laughs) I challenge him to do so. He (Virbhadra Singh) is known for lying. He had lied to Governor V.S. Rama Devi also when he claimed the support of 34 MLAs but the lie was nailed within seven days and he had to resign before facing the House for the vote of confidence.

Our alliance with Sukh Ram had the high command's nod. I compliment Narendra Modi, the party's national secretary and in-charge of Himachal affairs, who clinched the arrangement and worked out all modalities for the government. Had the BJP won three to four more seats, we could have formed the government on our own. Since both the BJP and the HVC had pledged to freethe state from Congress rule and feudalistic forces, there was no option but to join hands. Remember, Sukh Ram was elected to the Assembly by the second-highest margin in the elections and no charges had been framed against him by any court.

The Congress has done the biggest harm to the state. Only Virbhadra Singh is responsible if we fall into a debt trap. He took loans to the tune of several crores not for development projects but to meet non-productive expenses. Commissions were paid to agents for raising loans and the debt liability of the state has shot up to Rs 6,000 crore. We will soon bring out a white-paper on the state's financial health. Simultaneously, I have taken up the matter with Prime Minister Vajpayee and also held meetings with Union finance minister and deputy chairman of the planning commission to seek a special financial package of Rs 1,000 crore or along term loan.