Kamal govt on the edge after Scindia revolts
17 ‘rebel’ MLAs in Bengaluru; Nath rushes back to Bhopal
Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday proved that he was not merely posturing as at least 17 MLAs, including four state ministers aligned to him, flew to Bengaluru, posing a very serious threat to the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh. Mr Nath, who is in power with a wafer-thin majority, rushed to Bhopal from New Delhi where he had met Congress president Sonia Gandhi late on Sunday and was closeted with his MLAs and senior Cabinet colleagues.
Mr Scindia’s revolt is seen by many as a clash between the proverbial Old Guard and the new leadership of the Congress Party. The former MP from Guna is known to be a close aide of Rahul Gandhi, while Kamal Nath and Digvijay Singh are the senior leadership who many say are refusing to cede space to the younger leadership.
Sources in the BJP said Mr Scindia had sought time to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi late Monday night. However, the Congress claimed that he was scheduled to meet Mrs Gandhi.
Congress sources also said that the party was ready to give in to any of Mr Scindia’s demands, which included the post of Madhya Pradesh Congress chief and a Rajya Sabha berth. Mr Scindia remained incommunicando.
As the situation spun out of control, Mr Nath, who had left for New Delhi from Bhopal on Sunday on a two-dayvisit, returned to Bhopal on Monday evening in the state aircraft.
He then proceeded to his official residence in Bhopal, where he held a meeting with senior leaders of the party, including former chief minister Digvijay Singh, AICC legal cell chairman Vivek Tankha and some party MLAs, including a number of ministers in his Cabinet. The meeting still continued till the last ■
reports came in. Significantly, not a single Congress MLA or state minister owing allegiance to AICC general secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia was present at the meeting.
The meeting also assumed significance with chief secretary S.R. Mohanty and senior officers of the chief minister’s office taking part in it.
Four state ministers and 17 Congress MLAs, all of them belonging to Mr Scindia’s camp, have suddenly become incommunicado with their mobile phones switched off.
Amid apprehensions on future moves by Mr Scindia, who has been sulking for being marginalised in the party and for being denied post of MP Pradesh Congress Committee president, efforts were launched by party’s central leadership to placate Mr Scindia “not to break away from Congress”.
A senior Congress leader told this newspaper that the party’s Young Turks,
Milind Deora and Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, have been assigned the task of bringing Mr Scindia to the negotiating table to address his grievances.
Also, in an unusual and hurried move, the BJP convened a meeting of its legislature party in Bhopal on Tuesday evening. Former chief minister and BJP national vice-president Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who has been camping in New Delhi for the past four days, was scheduled to arrive in Bhopal on Tuesday morning along with senior party leader and former minister Narottam Mishra.
Congress veteran Digvijay Singh had earlier accused the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders of trying to break the Congress Legislature Party by indulging in horse-trading.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, however, described it a routine meeting ahead of the Budget Session of the state Assembly, scheduled to commence on March 16.