Tag: Former Chief Minister Kamal Nath

Madhya Pradesh: Conundrum Continues as Scindia Supporters Wait for Cabinet Berths

Tulsi Silawat and Govind Singh Rajput – the prime movers behind the rebellion which brought down the Kamal Nath government in March – are conspicuously missing from the Chauhan cabinet.

As the year comes to an end, how close is Jyotiraditya Scindia to realising any of the dreams that propelled the largest exodus of MLAs from Congress party in Madhya Pradesh and brought down an elected government? Is Scindia – who has lived a charmed political life having spent 17 of his 18 years in public life in parliament –going to be a Union minister again?

It’s a question which must be exasperating Sushil Modi as well, and even though totally unrelated as their circumstances are, they are both equally impatient for a cabinet reshuffle soon.

Delicate position

Scindia’s supporters certainly want some urgent answers. None more so than former health minister Tulsi Silawat and former transport minister Govind Singh Rajput – the prime movers behind the rebellion of 21 Scindia supporters whose resignations brought down the Kamal Nath government in March. Both of them found no place in Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s cabinet even though they won the November by-elections. Three other Scindia cabinet ministers lost but two of them continue to be retained by Chouhan.

At the moment nine Scindia campers are in Chouhan’s cabinet, but three of them face corruption charges after the Income Tax department raids on Nath acolytes during the general elections of May 2019. Their names allegedly appear in confiscated diaries and papers which record them as having received money from Nath’s manager Pravin Kakker.

It is likely that they will be dropped sooner than later. That’s how the BJP works. If the names have been revealed by a central agency, it is a warning sign that those named — Pradyuman Tomar, Bisahulal Singh and Rajvardhan Singh — face an uncertain future.

On the other hand, Chouhan is playing a clever game by not including Silawat, a Dalit MLA, as he believes promoting Imarti Devi, another Dalit, would be a better bet. Imarti Devi lost the by-elections from Dabra which is a safe Congress seat. Chouhan would like to promote Imarti to not only damage Congress in their backyard but also because she is an easier and less tricky customer than Silawat.

Also read: Will the Madhya Pradesh Bypolls Mark the Possible Decline and Fall of Jyotiraditya Scindia?

Insiders in the BJP believe that a few Scindia supporters are finding it difficult to fit into the BJP’s scheme of things. It is equally true that they are also not being welcomed by established leaders whose constituencies they have usurped. It’s a difficult ride ahead for them, but not as difficult as for their leader, perhaps.

Jyotiraditya is fast learning that he is not as big a mass leader as Congress projected him to be. Not only did three of his ministers lose but three other MLAs who directly influence Gwalior region have also lost the by-elections. Inside the state BJP he is not even considered among the first five leaders as Chouhan, Narendra Singh Tomar, Vishnu Sharma, Narottam Mishra and Thawarchand Gehlot take priority over him. Unfortunately for him, Tomar and Mishra are from Gwalior region and have already carved out positions for themselves over the years.

Scindia has also opted to go to the Rajya Sabha, so his Lok Sabha seat of Guna will in all probability leave the family fold forever. BJP is unlikely to prefer another candidate from the Scindia family because of its professed stand against dynastic politics. His aunt Yashodhara Raje has already represented Gwalior in the Lok Sabha but has since switched to state politics and continues to be a minister in the Chouhan cabinet, so anyone from his immediate family is unlikely to get a BJP ticket.

Jyotiraditya Scindia meets home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi, Thursday, March 12, 2020, a day after joining the BJP. Photo: PTI

Then there are several others like Gopal Bhargava and Jayant Malaiya who have been ministers for several years under Chouhan and have their own niche within the BJP system. They are ostensibly quiet but their unhappiness with usurpers and latecomers at the same table is understandable. At the time of the switchover, Scindia had promised his supporters that to “settle them” would be his first priority but so far the two seniormost amongst them remain in limbo.

By most accounts and reports it appears Scindia had been promised a cabinet rank by the Modi-Shah combine. It’s more than nine months now and nothing has come of it. Judging from past record of the duo, Scindia will in all probability get what has been promised but till then he will have to just twiddle his thumb as Chouhan does not even invite him for state functions and important party confabulations.

Meanwhile, agriculture minister Tomar is growing in stature within the party as he is sticking gamely to the Centre’s stand on the farmers’ issue. Scindia, even as cabinet minister, will be second fiddle to him. At the state level it will be home minister Mishra who will assert himself. From the opposition benches there’s always the veteran Digvijaya Singh and his son Jayvardhan who will be only too happy to enjoy his discomfort. He will be hoping 2021 turns out better.

‘Violates Model Code of Conduct’: EC Raps Kamal Nath for ‘Item’ Remark on BJP Candidate

The poll panel issued a notice to Nath after he used the jibe against BJP candidate Imarti Devi, at a poll rally a few days ago.

New Delhi The Election Commission on Monday said that former Madhya Pradesh chief minister, Kamal Nath, had violated its advisory related to campaigning by using the word “item” for a BJP candidate. The EC advised the Congress leader not to use such terms in public during the period of the Model Code of Conduct.

The poll panel issued a notice to Kamal Nath after he used the jibe against BJP candidate, Imarti Devi, at a poll rally a few days ago. This drew angry reactions from the ruling party.

Addressing a poll meeting last week in Gwalior’s Dabra town; whose assembly seat Imarti Devi is contesting for, Kamal Nath said the Congress candidate was a “simple person” unlike his opponent who was an “item”.

Also read: ‘Wasn’t Disrespectful,’ Says Kamal Nath as Rahul Gandhi Calls ‘Item’ Remark Unfortunate

Following a complaint by the BJP and reference by the National Commission for Women, the EC served the notice to Kamal Nath.

The Commission on Monday issued orders against the Congress leader. “The Commission hereby advises Kamal Nath, ex-chief minister Madhya Pradesh that while making public utterances he should not use any such word or statement during the period of Model Code of Conduct,” the order said.

The order stated that Kamal Nath’s usage of the word “item” for a lady “…constitutes violation” of advisory issued by the Commission relating to the model code.

Bypolls to 28 Madhya Pradesh Assembly seats will be held on November 3.

MP: Collector, SP Removed After Visuals of Dalit Couple Ingesting Pesticide Go Viral

Rajkumar Ahirwar and Savitri consumed pesticide to protest against the police’s ‘anti-encroachment drive’ which involved destroying their crops.

New Delhi: The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday night removed the Guna collector S. Vishwanathan and Superintendent of Police Tarun Nayak in connection with a recent incident when Rajkumar Ahirwar and Savitri, a Dalit farmer couple, consumed pesticide to save their crops from the police’s anti-encroachment drive.

The move came after a photograph of the couple’s children, crying next to their mother’s dead body went viral.

The officials were removing an illegal settlement from the 45-bigha Guna land reserved for a government post-graduate college. They alleged that Ahirwar had encroached upon most of the land.

Ahirwar had repeatedly requested the officials that he had rightfully bought the land on lease and even sought a loan to cultivate crops on it. He also said that his family members would have no option other than ending their lives if their crops were destroyed.

Despite his appeals, when the couple consumed pesticide, the police booked them under charges of obstructing public officials on duty. A video showing the police beating up Ahirwar’s younger brother was also widely circulated on social media.

Also read: How the ‘Orange Areas’ Dispute in Central India Leaves Dalit, Adivasi Farmers Without Land Rights

“The police had to use force as Ahirwar’s relatives were not letting them take the couple to hospital. The government had sanctioned Rs 12 crore for construction of the college, and any further delay could have resulted in it being shifted to another district,” the collector told the Indian Express before he was removed from his post.

The state’s home minister Narottam Mishra has said that a probe will be conducted by senior officials from Bhopal and action will be sought against those responsible.

Meanwhile, the Congress has said that the police’s actions reveal a “jungle raj” in Madhya Pradesh. “If there was some dispute about the land, it could have been solved legally… Will the government show similar alacrity in clearing encroachment on thousands of acres of government land by so-called jan sevaks (people’s servants)?” said former chief minister Kamal Nath.

A previous attempt to clear the encroachment had been thwarted by the family of Gappu Pardhi, who claimed to be the owner of the land.

Madhya Pradesh: Amid Lockdown, Muslims Help Perform Last Rites of Hindu Neighbour

No vehicle was available to carry the body to the cremation ground.

Bhopal: Members of the Muslim community helped in performing the last rites of their Hindu neighbour in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore city as relatives of the deceased could not reach the place due to the nationwide lockdown.

Senior Congress leader and former state chief minister Kamal Nath lauded the gesture of the Muslim community members, saying they have set an example in society.

Draupadi Bai, 65, a poor woman who was suffering from paralysis and living with her elder son, died at her residence in the South Toda area of Indore on Monday.

Due to the lockdown, the deceased’s relatives could not reach the place for her funeral and no vehicle was available to carry the body to the cremation ground.

When some Muslim community members residing in the neighbourhood came to know about it, they came forward to help the grief-stricken family.

Wearing masks as a precaution against coronavirus, they helped in making arrangements for the deceased’s last rites and carried the body on their shoulders to the cremation ground located about 2.5 km away from the area, state Congress spokesman Narendra Saluja said.

A picture of the Muslim men carrying the Hindu woman’s body on their shoulders went viral on social media and their gesture was widely appreciated by netizens.

The Muslim men later said they considered it their duty as the woman used to shower a lot of affection on them during their childhood.

Lauding them, Kamal Nath in a tweet said, “It is really praiseworthy that Muslim community persons along with the old woman’s two sons carried the body on their shoulders for her last rites. This has set an example in society.”

“It reflects our Ganga-Jamumi culture and such scenes enhance mutual love and brotherhood,” he added.