Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jyotiraditya Scindia on Sunday revealed for the first time that he was offered the post of the deputy chief minister after the 2018 Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls, but he refused the offer to work for the people, PTI reported. In March, Scindia had quit the Congress and joined the BJP.
Congress spokesperson Narendra Saluja, however, said in a statement that Scindia was not made any such offer and was making false claims, according to The Week.
Scindia, now a Rajya Sabha MP in the Bharatiya Janata Party, also alleged the Congress had made false promises to the public to return to power in the state. “Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had promised that farm loans of up to Rs 2 lakh will be waived within 10 days or else the chief minister will be sent back on the eleventh day,” he said at the BJP’s three-day-long membership drive, which will end on Monday.
The party has launched a membership drive in Gwalior ahead of bye-polls being held to 27 Assembly constituencies in which Gwalior-Chambal region accounts for 16 of the seats.
The BJP leader further attacked former Chief Ministers Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh. “I understood that Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh will ruin the Congress government in 15 months,” he said.
Meanwhile, Congress members and workers have been protesting against the membership drive and have asked Scindia to go back. Senior state leader Digvijaya Singh also joined the demonstration and showed to the media older video clips of the Rajya Sabha MP’s public speeches where he was seen making different claims about the BJP and the Congress.
Singh also rubbished Scinidia’s allegations. He further asked how the BJP was holding membership drives when setting up Ganesh pandals was banned in the state during the coronavirus outbreak.
In March, the Kamal Nath-led Congress government in Madhya Pradesh collapsed after 22 MLAs, considered close to Scindia, resigned. They later joined the BJP. Scindia, who also joined the saffron party on March 11, was named the party’s Rajya Sabha candidate from Madhya Pradesh. Many of the rebel MLAs were given ministerial posts in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government.
During the membership drive, minister Pradyumna Singh Tomar claimed that 35,843 Congress members have joined the BJP in two days and more will do so the next day. Former Congress minister Govind Singh dismissed the claims and said many persons had already left Congress and some names were included deliberately without seeking the consent of the persons concerned.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!