Cong, BJP spar over CM Chouhan’s clips

BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh Congress released audio and video clips on Wednesday, saying they contained chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s speech in which he admitted the previous state government was toppled on the instructions of the central BJP leadership.

Chouhan’s remarks cited by the Congress purportedly came while addressing an intraparty meeting with BJP workers and leaders in Indore on Sunday. In the speech, Chouhan is heard saying, “But there is a question. The central leadership had decided that this government should fall. This (government) will ruin and destroy the state.”

HT can’t vouch for the authenticity of the clips.

Chouhan is further heard saying while pointing to his ministerial colleague Tulsi Silavat, who resigned from the Congress to join the BJP, “He (Tulsi Silavat) gave up his position of minister as he was pained (with the conduct of Congress). People don’t give up even the post of sarpanch.”

Chouhan’s meeting with the party workers and leaders was to mobilise them ahead of bypolls to 24 assembly constituencies, 22 of which fell vacant after the then Congress MLAsresigned in

March and joined the BJP. Silavat, who is now the water resources minister, is likely to contest the bypoll from Sanwer assembly that he held until he resigned.

The resignations of the legislators followed the resignation of senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia who joined the BJP. Their resignations culminated in the fall of the Congress government in the state.

State Congress president and former chief minister Kamal Nath said, “I have been saying from day one that BJP toppled my government which had the mandate from people, under a conspiracy while playing the game of enticement...BJP knew that with such work of the the Congress government, it would not be able to return to power for years.” Chouhan could not be reached for comment.

The state BJP spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal said, “What the chief minister said was in agreement with what he said earlier too that the government didn’t fall because of the BJP but because of inherent conflicts within the Congress...”

The state Congress president’s media coordinator Narendra Saluja said, “In view of the CM’s admission regarding the conspiracy against the then Congress government the party will take necessary steps...”