BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath accused opposition BJP and its senior leaders, including ex-CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan of playing "camera politics," in the name of protesting for the cause of people hit by rain and flood in the state.
Addressing a public event after inaugurating a 220-bed super specialty government hospital in Jabalpur on Saturday, the CM said, "BJP is playing politics just to be in the spotlight in the name of protesting for the state’s flood-hit people."
"If BJP leaders, including Shivraj Singh Chouhan are so concerned about the cause of our farmers and people hit badly by rains and floods, why are they protesting in MP. They should instead go to Delhi and sit on a hunger strike there against their own government for a central relief package for the state. Have they got the guts to demonstrate and resort to hunger strike against their own central government in Delhi?" Nath said.
Meanwhile, in Bhopal, state minister PC Sharma put the blame of hiking VAT on petrol and diesel in the state as well as raising the tax on liquor squarely on the central government. "In the last Union budget, the central government deprived the state of its share of funds worth around Rs 30,000 crore. Also, the central government is yet to release funds for the relief and rehabilitation of our flood-hit people. Where will we get the funds for our flood-hit farmers, if the Centre doesn’t help us?" he said. The state hiked the VAT on both petrol and diesel by 5 per cent. The revised rates came into effect from Friday midnight.