Congress' internal bickerings and BJP's belligerence in MP

The internal bickerings in the ruling Congress Party in Madhya Pradesh came to the fore after one of the ministers in the Kamal Nath government went public with his complaint against senior leader Digvijaya Singh interfering in governance.

Forest Minister Umang Singhar wrote to party interim president Sonia Gandhi levelling serious allegations against Digvijaya Singh, even calling him a blackmailer. 

Singhar said it is Digvijaya Singh who is running the show in Madhya Pradesh. He is the new power centre in the state, he said. 

"All I can say about Digvijaya Singh is that he's running the government from behind the curtains," Singhar said.

Former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan claimed that there is a breakdown of the constitutional machinery in the state. The government is run by Digvijaya Singh and not Kamal Nath. 

Opposition leader in the state assembly Gopal Bhargava also said that it is clear now who is running the government in Madhya Pradesh. There is all round mismanagement. This is not good for the state. 

In a letter to the ministers, Digvijaya Singh had asked about the action taken on his previous letters recommending transfers. He also asked for an appointment with them by August 31 to follow up on his requests.

Even former state president Arun Yadav, who was subjected to a lathicharge during a protest a long time ago, could not hide his feelings. He tweeted, "I am unhappy that after working with such great leaders for 15 years against BJP, the situation in the state has now come to this. If I had any inkling, I would not have fought against corrupt ideology of the BJP with all my sincerity." 

Yadav even shared pictures of the lathicharge on his Twitter handle, which was picked up by senior BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the former chief minister of the state. 

Chouhan hit out at the Kamal Nath-led Congress government, mistaking the pictures as recent, saying, "I condemn the lathi charge at CWC member Arun Yadav. Kamal Nath ji earlier used police against farmers, labourers and now he is using force against his own people." 

After Shivraj's tweet, Arun Yadav retorted and said, "these pictures of lathicharge belong to the BJP rule, when you were the chief minister Shivraj ji. I was protesting in Bhopal against police inaction in a murder case in Katni."

However, given the BJP's aggressiveness against the Kamal Nath government which is in power with a wafer thin majority, it seems the state is heading towards an unsettling time. IANS