Kamal Nath poses teasers to MP govt

Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath on Saturday launched a series of questions for next 40 days against the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government staring with posers on poor healthcare service in the state.

He will continue to pose questions on the state government’s alleged failures till the day of voting for the Assembly election that is November 28.

This is being seen as the beginning of the electoral contest in the state on real issues. Hitherto, the Congress campaign was largely focused on religious symbolism such as cow, Rama and temple tours.

Congress sources say the party engaged experts, researchers and data analysts to study and find out where the government’s promises grossly mismatched with actual delivery in core sectors such as education, health, employment, welfare schemes etc. Based on the findings, questions for various sectors have been framed to discomfit the Shivraj Singh government.

Citing replies in the Rajya Sabha about more than 50% vacancies of doctors and paramedical staff in Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath claimed the NDA government at the Centre has admitted that Madhya Pradesh fares among the worst states in healthcare.

Of the 51 districts in the state, 20 are among the worst in India in providing basic health care to the people, the Congress leader alleged, citing a Union Health Ministry report.

However, state’s revenue minister Umashankar Gupta hit back at Kamal Nath, saying those who sit in drawing rooms have no right to ask questions.

The minister claimed that health services in the state have improved since 2003 when the BJP had dethroned the Congress from power in Madhya Pradesh.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan refused to reply to the questions on the poor healthcare. He, instead, took a jibe at Kamal Nath for being obsessed with Shivraj Singh’s name, adding “ this only indicates that I am on the right track”.