MP govt’s Deendayal committees ploy to build BJP network for 2023 polls: Cong

The Congress has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Madhya Pradesh of trying to misuse the administrative machinery to build a network of the party cadre across the state in the name of Deendayal committees to use the same in 2023 assembly elections.

Congress spokesperson in Madhya Pradesh, Bhupendra Gupta said, “The announcement is nothing but a ploy of the BJP government to build a network of the BJP and Sangh workers at the cost of public exchequer to use the same network in the next assembly election. This is also an attempt to assuage the feelings of BJP workers who believe the BJP government gave ministerial berths to 14 ex-Congress MLAs who joined the BJP in March this year in an act of betrayal to the people and then gave them tickets to contest the bypolls by dumping the committed party workers.”

The Congress’ reaction came after chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced the formation of such committees while releasing the Atmanirbhar Madhya Pradesh Roadmap-2023 during a programme in Bhopal on Thursday.

“A new structure will be created for public participation in development and monitoring system. Deendayal committees will be constituted at village, Janpad and district levels to ensure public participation and monitoring,” Chouhan had said.

Earlier, in a party meeting in Bhopal in April this year Chouhan had talked of the government’s plan to constitute the committees.

Though the state government is yet to spell out in details on functioning of the committees named after Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, founder of the Jana Sangh, the forerunner to the BJP, similar committees had been formed three years back too. The committees were then called Antyoday samiti named after the antyoday (welfare of underprivileged people) ideology of Deendayal Upadhyay, BJP leaders said.

The state government had then issued instructions to all the collectors and commissioners of municipal bodies regarding formation of the committees at village, block, district, nagar nigam, nagar palika, nagar panchayat and state level. More than 1.25 lakh BJP workers were supposed to be accommodated in the committees. These committees were supposed to give feedback to the government on the status of implementation of development projects and quality of the work. BJP leaders claimed that the committees were dissolved after the Congress formed the government in December 2018.

While Congress has criticized the CM’s announcement on the committees, a section of the BJP leaders and workers too were not enthused over the announcement.

Former member of state level Antyoday committee ex-MLA Shivprasad Rathore said, “The committees didn’t have any authority. At best they could have reviewed the government schemes. The district level committees were supposed to apprise the collectors of their feedback and it’s up to the collectors how to look into the suggestions or complaints.”

A BJP leader who did not want to be named said, “What is use of such committees without any authority? These committees will meet the same fate as that of Antyoday committees which were nothing but ornamental for party workers. Question is if a government authority would like any interference in his work and who will listen to the committees’ voice when corruption in the system is order of the day.”

Another leader was associated with an Antyoday samiti said, “MPs and MLAs of our party hardly welcomed Antyoday samitis, not to say of government officials. They don’t want emergence of any new power centre within the party in their constituencies.”

But BJP spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal insisted that the decision will ensure quality of the development works at the grassroots level.”

“The CM’s announcement is a welcome step. The committees will work as a bridge between the state government and people and will ensure quality of the development works being implemented at the grassroots level,” Agrawal said.