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Winds of change blowing across M.P.: Digvijay

Vinay Kumar

KURAVAR (M.P.): As you hit the National Highway 12 out of Bhopal which links it to Jaipur and heads towards this dusty, small town about 60 km away from the State capital, surprise seems to be in store as the drive is smooth and highway is well-marked and carpeted. It takes one to the stronghold of the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Digvijay Singh, in Rajgarh district. And “Raja Saheb,” as he is fondly addressed by the public, on Saturday has a date with this town where Congress flags are visible in good numbers.

It is around 12 noon and villagers, party workers and Girish Bhandari, the Congress candidate from the Narsinghgarh Assembly constituency, are waiting at the helipad, about five km away from the town, to welcome Raja Saheb.

As soon as the chopper lands, raising clouds of dust, the atmosphere reverberates with “Diggy Raja Zindabad” and the party workers jostle to garland him. Quickly, he gets into the waiting sports utility vehicle and is taken to the venue of election meeting, stopping once or twice en route to accept greetings, garlands from children and party supporters.

Attacking the BJP government of Shivraj Singh Chauhan for “all-round failure and rampant corruption,” Diggy Raja strikes a rapport with the public. Alleging that villagers and the poor had to cough up a good amount to even purchase their own quota of foodgrains and kerosene from public distribution system outlets, he sought to puncture the BJP claims of improving the lot of public in rural areas

Mr. Singh charged the BJP government with sending false electricity bills to farmers. He alleged that it later instituted cases against 1.75 lakh farmers and sent 40,000 of them to jail on account of non-payment of dues. “I ask the BJP as to how many affluent people were sent to jail for non-payment of electricity bills? They did not have courage to do so,” he said amid thunderous applause from the public.

In his own witty way, Mr. Singh thanked Bharatiya Jan Shakti Party chief and former BJP leader Uma Bharti — who was blaming the Congress government five years ago for failure but had turned her guns against the BJP government calling it “most corrupt and lacklustre.” “I am happy that she is giving us a certificate but I do not need a certificate from her, I need it from the public. Winds of parivartan (change) are blowing across Madhya Pradesh and you can benefit only when you change the government in Bhopal”, he said exhorting the people to vote for the Congress in the November 27 elections to 230 Assembly constituencies.

“Where is progress and development claimed by the BJP? All the schemes and developmental projects and irrigation projects were initiated during my tenure and completed in the last five years for which the BJP is claiming credit,” Mr. Singh asked.

Talking to The Hindu here on Saturday, he said the people were appalled at the “shameless way in which open loot was being resorted to by the BJP Ministers and junior workers.”

The former Chief Minister said the public was being exploited and put to a lot of hardship by deep-rooted corruption and nexus between lower rung of BJP workers and administration officials. He said that rural areas, weaker sections and minorities were particularly neglected during the BJP rule in the State. He alleged that the BJP had compiled a “bundle of lies” in the form of its manifesto. He also criticised the BJP for “dividing Hindus and Muslims in the name of religion.”

Admitting that Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party could increase its vote share from seven per cent to slightly more, Mr. Singh said that Ms. Bharti had the potential to come up with some electoral surprises as she had vowed to decimate the BJP.

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