Chouhan writes open letter to Shanta Kumar

BHOPAL: Call it a sign of mounting pressure from within and outside his party or a desperate attempt to silence critics, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan (56), in a first in his political career, wrote an ‘open letter’ against a senior party leader, claim party leaders.

Chouhan’s letter was addressed to party veteran Shanta Kumar (80), and appeared several hours after Kumar remarked that the Vyapam scam ‘has forced all of us to hang our heads in shame’.

What makes Chouhan’s letter interesting is the fact that Chouhan, through his letter, expressed his annoyance over Shanta Kumar’s letter being made public through the media.

“You are a seasoned and senior leader of the party. It pains me to say that want of values which has been explained in the letter (written by Shanta Kumar) gets reflected in writing of the letter itself. Being a member of a disciplined party it was naturally expected that information be gathered about the above mentioned incidents (scam). But instead of doing so, writing a letter to the party president, getting it propagated by the media and also giving advice for an ethics committee is nothing but a paradox,” said Chouhan in his letter.

Party leaders feel it is uncharacteristic of Chouhan to use such harsh language against any party leader.

However, state BJP vice-president Vijesh Lunawat justified Chouhan’s stand.

Lunawat said, “What the chief minister did was an attempt on his part to dispel confusion in the mind of any leader caused by the Congress’ false propaganda. That’s why he gave all the reports to the veteran leader along with the letter to study. In doing so, the CM maintained dignity and humility and didn’t cross the line of decency.”