Digvijaya fuels infighting in MP government

Simmering internecine war in the Madhya Pradesh Congress has come out on multiple fronts.

While Jyotiraditya Scindia’s supporters are unyielding on their demand to make him PCC president, ministers close to Chief Minister Kamal Nath have openly rallied against senior Congress leader Digvijjaya Singh’s alleged attempts at backseat driving of the government.

Although Scindia on Tuesday indicated softening of his reportedly rebellious stand, Kamal Nath’s worries have not lessened as Digviaya Singh has caused fresh headache for the eight-month old government.

Scindia stated in Gwalior that the party interim chief Sonia Gandhi would take a call on the next Madhya Pradesh Congress chief and that would be accepted.

Meanwhile, State’s Forest Minister Umang Singhar on Tuesday accused Digvijaya Singh of blackmailing the Kamal Nath government. A day before, the minister wrote a letter to Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, alleging that Digvijaya Singh is trying to destabilise the government in a bid to establish himself as a parallel power centre.

Another minister and Kamal Nath acolyte Sajjan Singh Verma has endorsed Umang Singhar’s allegations.

Provocation for the ministers’ diatribe against the senior Congress leader came in the shape of a letter that he recently wrote to all cabinet colleagues of the chief minister, asking them to give progress on the recommendations he had made.

Digvijaya Singh asked the ministers to fix appointment with him for the purpose.

The letter caused political storm as never before any leader, not even the chief minister, sought explanation about his or her personal recommendations and let such a letter go viral.

The unprecedented move vertically split the cabinet. Digvijaya Singh’s supporters and opponents in the cabinet went to the media contradicting each other. Ministers including P C Sharma and Bala Bachchan defended the former CM, saying being a senior leader he is well within his right to write such a letter. Peeved over bickering in the Congress, former PCC chief Arun Yadav tweeted that he was extremely upset over the situation prevailing in the party.