Keeping him away

MADHYA PRADESH chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan wants to send Kailash Vijayvargiya to the Rajya Sabha from the seat in MP vacated by Najma Heptulla. A BJP general secretary, Vijayvargiya is close to party president Amit Shah, and of late, has been taking digs at Chouhan’s government. Vijayvargiya recently regretted the delay in starting a Metro line in Indore. BJP MP president Nandkumar Chauhan responded that general secretaries should stick to issues concerning the party organisation and not interfere in the state. Vijayvargiya retorted that a state leader should not counter a national general secretary. The CM, on his part, fears that Vijayvargiya—a sixtime MLA who was virtually number two in the state cabinet till he resigned to join the party organisation—has an eye on his job. To ensure that Vijayvargiya stays away from state politics, Chouhan wants him to resign from the Assembly and join the Rajya Sabha.