SRINAGAR: Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday said if the BJP wanted, the Congress would not have been able to form the government in the state and vowed to put an end to what the Congress started after two MLAs of his party backed the Kamal Nath government in the state.
The BJP leader was here to launch the party's membership drive.
"If we wanted, the Congress would not have been able to form the government there (MP) as they also had no majority. They formed the government by allying with SP and BSP. As BJP got a few seats less than the Congress, I decided to sit in the opposition despite some of my colleagues saying we should not give up."
"Since the government was formed there, nothing has been done there except loot. We never tried to disturb the government there, but now Congress has started it and so we will end it," Chouhan told reporters here.
On July 24, BJP legislators Narayan Tripathi and Sharad Kol voted in favour of the Criminal Law (Madhya Pradesh Amendment) Bill, 2019 when it was put to vote in the Assembly.
The Congress has 114 MLAs -- two short of the simple majority mark of 116 -- and its government is supported by four Independent legislators, two MLAs of the Bahujan Samaj Party and one from the Samajwadi Party.
The BJP had won 109 seats and one of its MLAs resigned after getting elected to the Lok Sabha.
The BJP leader said Congress party's downfall in the country was its own doing.
"Congress does not have a president. They are looking for one but have not succeeded yet. One of the names doing rounds is of (Motilal) Vora. His age is 90 years."
"I will say that one family has destroyed the Congress party and till they do not do away with dynastic politics, the party will not have new leadership," he said.
Asked about the incidents of mob lynching, the BJP leader said the party has clearly said this would not be tolerated.
"As far as the issue of mob lynching is concerned, the BJP has clearly said that we will not let off anyone involved in such acts. No one in the country has the right to take law in his own hands and if anyone does that, there would be a strict action. That is our stand."
"The rule of law should prevail and every section of the society is our own and respecting every religion is in the roots of India. Everyone has a right to practice his own religion," he said.