BHOPAL: Irked over former Union Minister and senior party leader Jyotiraditya Scindia joining the BJP and the resignation spree by his loyalist MLAs putting the Kamal Nath government in deep crisis, the ruling Congress workers staged anti-Scindia protests in various parts of Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday.
Congress workers burnt the effigy of the former Union Minister at the Mohan Talkies crossing in Dhar district blaming him and his supporters for the present political crisis in the state.
In Jabalpur town, the Congress workers holding placards bearing the slogan Dada Mila Thaa Goro Se, Pota Mil Gaya Choron Se (Grandfather had aligned with British rulers and grandson aligned with thieves) carried out a procession against Scindia.
In Mandsaur, the Congress workers blackened the party posters bearing pictures of Scindia and blamed him for the political crisis confronting the Congress in the state.
In Bhopal, the former MP Congress Committee chief and ex-union minister Arun Yadav continued to target Scindia’s erstwhile royal family of Gwalior. “He (Scindia) hasn’t done anything new, but only followed his family’s tradition of being slaves to British rulers,” said Yadav.
Higher Education Minister Jeetu Patwari, who had targeted Scindia’s family on Tuesday by raising the issue of the Gwalior royal family’s role in the death of Rani Laxmi Bai in 1858, again took to Twitter on Wednesday, dubbing Scindia a Girgit (Chameleon).
“You (Scindia) turned out to be a Chameleon, you’ve aligned with those who got farmers shot dead in Mandsaur and have opposed those who were engaged in withdrawing cases lodged against farmers. I congratulate Congress workers of Gwalior-Chambal region for getting free from slavery,” tweeted Patwari.
Former CM and Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh, meanwhile, reportedly claimed in Bhopal, that Scindia was offered the post of deputy CM after the party won the 2018 assembly polls in MP, but he instead wanted his nominee to get appointed to the post.
The CM had rejected Scindia’s response as that he didn’t want a ‘chela’ (slave/servant) in that position.
Singh further said that Scindia left the Congress and joined BJP as he is over-ambitious. "We didn’t anticipate that Scindia will quit the Congress... that was a mistake. Someone who has got so much from the party - four-time MP, twice minister in Union Cabinet, Congress Working Committee member and party general secretary," he said.
"The Congress could have easily sent him to the Rajya Sabha with 122 MLAs on its side. But we could not have made him a cabinet minister. Only Modi-Shah can make (him) a cabinet minister, not us," he added.
Shivraj dubs Scindia’s entry into BJP as Shivraj and Maharaj now together
In Bhopal, former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan flanked by BJP MLA and ex-minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia (Jyotiraditya’s aunt) welcomed Scindia’s entry into the BJP.
“Right since a young age, I, as a BJP worker, was ushered in with blessings of Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia. It’s a pleasant sight to see now her grandson becoming part of BJP.”
When asked by journalists about BJP’s 2018 assembly poll slogan, “Maaf Karo Maharaj Hamara Neta Toh Shivraj,” the former CM said, “Scindia was the most popular Congress leader in Madhya Pradesh, so the poll slogan was coined in 2018. But now both Maharaj and Shivraj are together.”