Beleaguered Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan appears to be following in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s footsteps.
In a series of recent interviews to television channels and newspapers, Chouhan has repeatedly maintained that the people campaigning against him for his handling of the Vyapam recruitment scam are tarnishing the image of the state and people of Madhya Pradesh.
Modi had taken the same line when, as chief minister of Gujarat, he was attacked for his role in the 2002 communal riots in the state. In an effort to deflect attention from the attacks, Modi had projected these as a conspiracy to damage the reputation of “five crore Gujaratis”. This invocation of Gujarati pride or asmita, intertwined with Hindutva, allowed Modi to consolidate the Hindu vote in his favour.
Hitting pay dirt
Modi succeeded in striking a chord with the electorate in Gujarat first in the assembly elections when he won three successive terms starting in 2001 and then in the last Lok Sabha elections. Appealing to Gujarati pride once again, he blamed the Congress for not making Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel the prime minister after Independence and asked the electorate to correct a historical wrong by electing him to the country’s top job.
Finding himself in the thick of a political storm, Chouhan has attempted to play to the same sense of victimhood.
Speaking to journalists shortly after the Supreme Court on Thursday ordered that the Vyapam probe be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation, Chouhan promptly hit out at the Congress for defaming the people of Madhya Pradesh.
Accusing the Congress of suffering from Shivraj-phobia, Chouhan maintained, “If they have some personal enmity, let them take it out on Shivraj. Why malign the whole state of Madhya Pradesh?”
He added, "I am hurt that in order to try and defame me, they are maligning the image of Madhya Pradesh.”
'State of murderers'
At another point, he said, "They have made it look like Madhya Pradesh is a state of murderers.”
In an interview to the Hindustan Times on Thursday, the chief minister once again remarked: “Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the person who started the probe, has been put in the dock. The image of the state has been ruined, the image is that people here are being murdered.”
This has been a recurring theme in the string of interviews Chouhan has given in an effort to douse the Vyapam fire, which has singed his image as an upright politician. Although this controversy has been brewing over the past three years, Chouhan had never been in the firing line. On the contrary, his popularity remained intact as he went on to lead the Bharatiya Janata Party to a third consecutive victory in the last assembly polls and the subsequent local elections.
Chouhan is rattled
However, the latest developments have rattled Chouhan. While the confident chief minister had earlier rejected demands for a CBI inquiry, he capitulated when he realised that his position was hurting his image.
But Chouhan is attempting to claim that he changed his stand because the perception had been created outside Madhya Pradesh that the “state and its chief minister is all about scams”.
“The Congress is unable to come to terms with the fact that a man from an ordinary background has been able to provide good governance and steady development in the state for 10 years,” he told the Times of India. “Hence, they are trying to damage my image and that of the government. But my request is to spare the state a bad name and try their best to damage my credentials."
However, the Madhya Pradesh chief minister’s line of argument is unlikely to cut much ice with the people in his home state. Unlike Narendra Modi, who is a fiery orator, Chouhan is not a great communicator. Besides, the backdrop against which Modi appealed to the Gujarati voter was different. The Godhra incident and the subsequent riots in Gujarat resulted in a sharp communal polarisation that made it possible for Modi to hold sway over the emotionally-charged electorate.
While the Vyapam scam and the mysterious deaths that have followed in its wake have created a buzz in Madhya Pradesh, these developments have not evoked the same surcharged reaction. Madhya Pradesh’s residents are not quite convinced that the continuing accusations hurled at Chouhan are an attack on their integrity.
In a series of recent interviews to television channels and newspapers, Chouhan has repeatedly maintained that the people campaigning against him for his handling of the Vyapam recruitment scam are tarnishing the image of the state and people of Madhya Pradesh.
Modi had taken the same line when, as chief minister of Gujarat, he was attacked for his role in the 2002 communal riots in the state. In an effort to deflect attention from the attacks, Modi had projected these as a conspiracy to damage the reputation of “five crore Gujaratis”. This invocation of Gujarati pride or asmita, intertwined with Hindutva, allowed Modi to consolidate the Hindu vote in his favour.
Hitting pay dirt
Modi succeeded in striking a chord with the electorate in Gujarat first in the assembly elections when he won three successive terms starting in 2001 and then in the last Lok Sabha elections. Appealing to Gujarati pride once again, he blamed the Congress for not making Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel the prime minister after Independence and asked the electorate to correct a historical wrong by electing him to the country’s top job.
Finding himself in the thick of a political storm, Chouhan has attempted to play to the same sense of victimhood.
Speaking to journalists shortly after the Supreme Court on Thursday ordered that the Vyapam probe be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation, Chouhan promptly hit out at the Congress for defaming the people of Madhya Pradesh.
Accusing the Congress of suffering from Shivraj-phobia, Chouhan maintained, “If they have some personal enmity, let them take it out on Shivraj. Why malign the whole state of Madhya Pradesh?”
He added, "I am hurt that in order to try and defame me, they are maligning the image of Madhya Pradesh.”
'State of murderers'
At another point, he said, "They have made it look like Madhya Pradesh is a state of murderers.”
In an interview to the Hindustan Times on Thursday, the chief minister once again remarked: “Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the person who started the probe, has been put in the dock. The image of the state has been ruined, the image is that people here are being murdered.”
This has been a recurring theme in the string of interviews Chouhan has given in an effort to douse the Vyapam fire, which has singed his image as an upright politician. Although this controversy has been brewing over the past three years, Chouhan had never been in the firing line. On the contrary, his popularity remained intact as he went on to lead the Bharatiya Janata Party to a third consecutive victory in the last assembly polls and the subsequent local elections.
Chouhan is rattled
However, the latest developments have rattled Chouhan. While the confident chief minister had earlier rejected demands for a CBI inquiry, he capitulated when he realised that his position was hurting his image.
But Chouhan is attempting to claim that he changed his stand because the perception had been created outside Madhya Pradesh that the “state and its chief minister is all about scams”.
“The Congress is unable to come to terms with the fact that a man from an ordinary background has been able to provide good governance and steady development in the state for 10 years,” he told the Times of India. “Hence, they are trying to damage my image and that of the government. But my request is to spare the state a bad name and try their best to damage my credentials."
However, the Madhya Pradesh chief minister’s line of argument is unlikely to cut much ice with the people in his home state. Unlike Narendra Modi, who is a fiery orator, Chouhan is not a great communicator. Besides, the backdrop against which Modi appealed to the Gujarati voter was different. The Godhra incident and the subsequent riots in Gujarat resulted in a sharp communal polarisation that made it possible for Modi to hold sway over the emotionally-charged electorate.
While the Vyapam scam and the mysterious deaths that have followed in its wake have created a buzz in Madhya Pradesh, these developments have not evoked the same surcharged reaction. Madhya Pradesh’s residents are not quite convinced that the continuing accusations hurled at Chouhan are an attack on their integrity.
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