Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia (Photo | PTI)
INDORE/DEWAS: In a swipe at the top Congress leadership, Union minister and BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday said the opposition party is concerned with the welfare and progress of "only one family".
He was speaking at a gathering at Dewas after launching 'Jan Ashirwad Yatra' of his party from the Madhya Pradesh town.
"We know about development. We work for the welfare of the poor. On the other hand, Congress is engaged in the upliftment of only one family. This is the difference between the BJP and Congress," Scindia said.
Congress and other opposition parties throttled the democratic system by not allowing Parliament to function when important bills were scheduled for discussion during the monsoon session, he alleged.
"If opposition thinks that (prime minister Narendra) Modi will bow down before their injustice, then the people of the country and BJP will give a befitting reply to them".
"People will never forgive Congress for its behaviour in the Rajya Sabha," Scindia said.
Under Modi's leadership, the country is successfully curbing the spread of coronavirus, he said.
Speaking to reporters, Scindia said the much-awaited bill on Backward Classes Reservation (reinstating the power of identifying backward classes with the states) was passed in Parliament in the recent session.
"Why this was not done in the last 70 years," he asked.
Scindia, who quit the Congress last year and was made civil aviation minister in the recent cabinet expansion, landed at Indore's Devi Ahilyabai Holkar airport in the morning to embark on the three-day Yatra.
There were chaotic scenes as a large number of BJP workers turned up to welcome him.
He formally launched the yatra after performing puja on the banks of the Kshipra river at Dewas, a local BJP leader said, adding that a motorcade of about 1,000 vehicles was accompanying him.
A video surfaced on social media showing several cars parked at the exit of the airport, causing traffic snarls, and a man saying angrily that the crowds that gathered to welcome Scindia created problem for the public.
Speaking to reporters at Indore after his arrival, Scindia said he would try his best to take India forward in the civil aviation sector under prime minister Narendra Modi's leadership.
He also thanked Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda for his inclusion in the cabinet.
Scindia, who is visiting the Malwa-Nimar region for the first time after becoming a Union minister, attended various programes in Dewas and Shajapur.
Madhya Pradesh Water Resources Minister and his supporter Tulsiram Silavat was among those who welcomed him at the airport.
Former Bhopal mayor and in-charge of Scindia's yatra Alok Sharma said he performed puja at the Kshipra river and launched the yatra.
At Dewas he also visited renowned classical vocalist late Kumar Gandharv's residence and paid his tributes.
Another newly-inducted Union minister from Madhya Pradesh, S P Singh Baghel, arrived at Datia on Monday and performed puja at the famous Peetambara Peeth shrine before embarking on Jan Ashirwad Yatra.
Addressing a press conference in Gwalior, Baghel said prime minister Modi "gave identity" to MPs of SC, ST and OBC communities by inducting them in the cabinet.
"But the opposition parties did not even allow introduction of newly inducted minister in the House, defying democratic traditions," he said.
Virendra Khatik, another Union minister, will set out on Jan Ashirwad Yatra in Gwalior district on Wednesday, a BJP spokesperson said.
