Politics of event management ruling the roost in MP: Kamal Nath

State Congress President Kamal Nath says that politics of event management was ruling the roost in the state. After Gujarat, this brand of politics is dominating Madhya Pradesh too.

In an interview with Free Press Journal on completion of his 100 days in office, Nath said he was sure the Congress would form the next government in the state. Excerpts:

FPJ: You have been the president of the state Congress for 100 days now. But the Congress is nowhere to be seen at the ground level. Nath: After taking over as the state president, my first job was to rebuild the organisation, to put the party structure in place, right up to the district and block levels. That is almost done. We have to take on the BJP organisation and its money power. We can do that only if we have a strong organisation.

FPJ: What are your plans for the next four months? Nath: We are all set to go to the people. We have made a beginning from Maihar. Rahul Gandhi will be crisscrossing the state. Scindia and I will also tour different areas. Other leaders will also do the same.

FPJ: As far as preparations for the elections go, don’t you think the Congress is already lagging behind? Nath: I don’t want to speak out early and fast. We are beginning to reach out to the people at the right time. FPJ: What happened with Deepak Babaria and Jyotiraditya Scindia - won’t it hurt the Congress?

Nath: Some people had raised slogans in the presence of Babaria. There was nothing more to it. As for Scindia and Nuri Khan, it was just a misunderstanding, which has been removed. Nuri herself has cleared the air.

FPJ: The chief minister’s Jan Ashirvad Yatra is drawing huge crowds, your take? Nath: It is politics of event management. This pattern had begun from Gujarat and now it has reached the state. The government machinery is mobilising the crowds. I have detailed and concrete evidence of how the government officials are ferrying people for CM’s public engagements.

FPJ: But this happened during Congress regimes too? Nath: No, that was not so. I am witness to the politics in the state since the time of Arjun Singh. Such things never happened. The chief minister is the custodian of public funds. The tax payer''s money is not meant for organising felicitation functions. BJP flags are hoisted on the dais in government functions and the Congress is attacked. This was never done. FPJ: What will be the poll plank of the Congress? Nath: The people are being cheated. It is laughable to compare the state''s roads with those of the US. Had the comparison been made with Maharashtra or Karnataka, we could have understood. But America? Isn’t it a big joke?

FPJ: Elections are quite close. What are your hopes? Nath: I can read the writing on the wall. Whether it is the officers or the employees or different sections of society - all are with us. People of different castes are with us. I can feel the pulse of the people. We are going to form the next government.