Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Thursday appealed to the Opposition to rise above partisan politics and focus on the state’s development.
His statement comes a day after two Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs voted in favour of the Congress-led government in the state Assembly. Narayan Tripathi and Sharad Kaul voted for an amendment to the criminal procedure code in the state. Ahead of the vote, Leader of Opposition Gopal Bhargava had claimed that the Congress government would not last even a day if the BJP’s top leadership wished so.
“We want to make Madhya Pradesh among the top in the country in terms of development and want to draw a new roadmap for state’s development,” Kamal Nath tweeted. “The state’s development is our topmost priority, we don’t want to divide the state on lines of partisan politics.”
He said from the beginning of his government’s tenure he had hoped that the Opposition would take part in constructive politics and help the state administration develop the state.
Meanwhile, Namdev Tyagi, who is popularly known as “Computer Baba”, claimed that four more BJP MLAs were ready to back the Congress, The Hindu reported. Tyagi is the chairperson of the Narmada river trust run by the state government.
“Four BJP MLAs are in touch with me and they want to support the Congress,” Tyagi claimed. “All of them are politicians with heft. Whenever Chief Minister Kamal Nath gives me the go-ahead, I will present their names before you.”
Tyagi refused to reveal the names, saying the four legislators would be intimidated. “When I quit the BJP, its leaders gave me a tough time...You know what Shivraj Singh Chouhan is capable of.”
Meanwhile, the central leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party sought a report from the state unit after the MLAs voted for the Congress government, The New Indian Express reported. Unidentified officials said the central leadership was not happy with Bhargava for threatening to pull down the government.
BJP legislator Sanjay Satyendra Pathak dismissed speculation about the possibility of joining Congress. “Twenty-six out of 28 present Congress ministers in MP are my friends, but BJP will continue to be my home,” added the MLA. “I certainly have a Congress family background owing to which there are often rumours about me joining the Congress. But let me assure you that my home now is the BJP, where I’m going to stay.”
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