A day after the BJP sprang a surprise by fielding Union Ministers and MPs as candidates for the upcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, the Congress on Tuesday claimed that the move showed “lack of confidence” in Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Madhya Pradesh Randeep Surjewala said that by fielding seven MPs, including three Union Ministers and a national general secretary besides the Chief Minister, the BJP had shown how “scared” it was of the Congress.
“It is clear how the fear of Congress haunts the BJP,” Mr. Surjewala said, adding that the personalities of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, former president Rahul Gandhi, and Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath, and the “anger of the brave people” of the State had caused the BJP to panic.
The AICC general secretary alleged that the BJP’s central leadership was aware that the State leadership had brought Madhya Pradesh to “the brink of disaster”.
“That is why 15 days ago [Home Minister] Amit Shah and yesterday [Prime Minister] Modi-ji distanced themselves from the name and work of Shivraj-ji,” Mr. Surjewala said.
The Congress leader targeted Mr. Chouhan as well as his colleague, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. “They know that their boat is sinking and that’s why they want to take down the others as well,” Mr. Surjewala said.
Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said the people had decided to to oust “those who formed the government through the back door”.
“It seems the BJP has conceded defeat even before the elections,” Mr. Khera said.
Mr. Khera also attacked the PM for his speech in Bhopal on Monday, in which Mr. Modi had questioned the Congress’ intention with regard to the women’s reservation Bill.
“The only Prime Minister who has become or has made himself a certified liar — if and when he opens his mouth, he only speaks lies,” Mr. Khera alleged.
The Congress leader claimed that the Rajiv Gandhi government had brought a Bill to provide one-third reservation to women in elected bodies as far back as 1989. Though the Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha, it fell short of seven votes in the Rajya Sabha, and those who opposed it included Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani, Ram Jethmalani, and Jaswant Singh.
