Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday accused Congress leader Kamal Nath of withdrawing crucial schemes floated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under his regime. Nath, the former chief minister, was quick to respond by saying that all the allegations were a lie.
The squabbling between the two senior leaders comes ahead of the by-polls on 28 assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday. Of them, 25 seats became vacant after the Congress MLAs left the party in March to join the BJP. This resulted in the fall of the Kamal Nath-led Congress government. BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan then became the chief minister.
“Today, Kamal Nath has given advertisements in newspapers that ‘What sin did I commit?’ Kamal Nath ji, you have sinned, you snatched away laptops of children who brought good numbers in Class 12, stalled the development of the state. You have converted Madhya Pradesh into a market of brokers,” Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, according to news agency ANI.
Watch: MP bypolls: ‘BJP leaders are saleable, voters aren’t’, says Kamal Nath
“The Rs 5,000 we paid to the poor for funerals was snatched away. We used to help the elderly make pilgrimages, you ended that plan. How many sins can I count? You have destroyed Madhya Pradesh, it was your sin and you have to pay the same penalty,” Chouhan added. The chief minister was referring to the MP Funeral Assistance Scheme, which provided aided the poor registered labourers by providing money for last rites of their loved ones.
{{/usCountry}}“The Rs 5,000 we paid to the poor for funerals was snatched away. We used to help the elderly make pilgrimages, you ended that plan. How many sins can I count? You have destroyed Madhya Pradesh, it was your sin and you have to pay the same penalty,” Chouhan added. The chief minister was referring to the MP Funeral Assistance Scheme, which provided aided the poor registered labourers by providing money for last rites of their loved ones.
{{/usCountry}}A little later, Kamal Nath responded. “Every single thing is their lie. I wonder how they can lie so shamelessly,” the Congress leader said. “Shivraj Singh’s lies also exceeded limits. He had said that Kamal Nath is a sinner. When I asked what I sin did I commit, he said that Kamal Nath did not waive loans. While his government itself has said that the debt of 27 lakh farmers has been waived, the rest was going to be in the second-third instalment,” Nath pointed out.
Read more: Kamal Nath vs Shivraj Chouhan over Class IV employees’ retirement age
On November 1, Nath had accused the BJP dispensation in the state of reducing the retirement age of Class-IV government employees. In a tweet, Nath said the ruling BJP has brought down the age of retirement of Class-IV employees from 62 years to 60 years, prompting the BJP government to issue a clarification about it. Chief minister Chouhan had dubbed it as a “rumour”.