Bhopal, Feb 21 (IANS) A war of words between key leaders of the ruling BJP and opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh is gradually escalating. After Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and state Congress chief Kamal Nath entered into a question war, two other leaders, Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh and Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, have followed suit.
Digvijaya and Scindia, who used to be under the Congress umbrella till March 2020, are now leaving no stone unturned to attack each other.
While talking to the media a couple of day ago, Digvijaya Singh, without taking Scindia’s name, said that the Congress will from the government in Madhya Pradesh for full five year tenure because, “only trustfull people are in the Congress and those who believe in sale and purchase have gone now.” Singh made these remarks replying on whether the Congress will remain united on the party’s Chief Ministerial face?
Digvijaya also made it clear that the Congress will contest Madhya Pradesh’s Assembly elections under the leadership of Kamal Nath. He made this statement after a section of senior Congress leaders raised questions on the posters projecting Kamal Nath as the Chief Ministerial candidate for the 2023 Assembly elections.
The remark “bikau” was indirectly made on Scindia, whose shifting into the BJP (along with over 20 sitting Congress MLAs) in March 2020 had resulted in the demolition of Kamal Nath-led Congress government within 15 months of getting back into power after a gap of 15 years. Digvijaya and Scindia, who have strong domination in MP politics, especially in their respective areas — Gwalior and Guna districts — have always played ‘checkmate’ game of politics even when they were party colleagues.
While responding to Digvijaya’s ‘bikau’ remarks, Scindia addressed Digvijaya with a code name ‘2003 wale’. While addressing a gathering of party workers and locals in Shivpuri district on Monday night, the Union Minister said, “2003 wale ko lock kar diya jaye”. Scindia was indirectly referring to Digvijaya Singh, who was the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh for two terms — from 1993 to 2003.
–IANS
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