JOIN USWithin an hour of being sworn in as Madhya Pradesh chief minister on Monday, Kamal Nath took the first decision of waiving off loans of farmers.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi had promised in election rallies in Madhya Pradesh that within 10 days of forming the Congress government, farmers’ loans will be waived off.
In presence of a galaxy of national leaders, Madhya Pradesh governor Anandiben Patel sworn in Kamal Nath as the state’s 18th chief minister at 2.30 pm. The new chief minister will expand his cabinet later.
Apart from the Congress, leaders of 10 political parties were present on the stage during the oath-taking ceremony. Four former chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Digvijaya Singh, Kailash Joshi and Babulal Gaur were also on the dais.
Congress leaders on stage were party president Rahul Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Rajiv Shukla, former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, D Shivakumar, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, Congress leaders Anand Sharma and Raj Babbar, and former Haryana chief minister Bhupendra Hooda.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot also reached Bhopal soon after taking the oath of the office in Jaipur.
Prominent non-Congress leaders present on the stage included Sharad Pawar (NCP), Chandra Babu Naidu (TDP), Sharad Yadav (LJD) Farooq Abdullah (NC), Hemant Soren (JMM), Stalin and Kanmozhi (DMK), H D Deve Gowda and Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy (JDS), Tejaswi Yadav (RJD), Babulal Marandi (Jharkhand Vikas Morcha) and Dinesh Trivedi (TMC).
Later Kamal Nath addressed the media. He denied the allegations of his involvement in the 1984 Sikh riots in New Delhi. “There is no FIR against me, so how can I be held guilty of being involved in the riot?” he asked.
The veteran Congress leader described the allegations as politically motivated.
Before taking the oath, Kamal Nath took hands of Jyotiraditya Scindia and former chief minister Shivraj Singh and raised it as a show of solidarity.
Shivraj and Digvijaya touched the feet of veteran BJP leader Kailash Joshi.
Soon after taking the oath, the new chief minister signed on the file about loan waiver. The decision will benefit 40 lakh farmers whose cumulative loans on nationalised, cooperative and other banks is worth Rs 57000 crore.