Taking a jibe at the factionalism in the Madhya Pradesh unit of the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday dared the party to declare its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.
Launching a scathing attack on state Congress president Kamal Nath, PM Modi wondered how can a party chief, who is unable to decide the CM face, take decisions about the future of the people.
“The Congress party in the state speaks in eight different languages in eight regions of the state. Every area has its own leader. You go to one area, they say the leader from there will be the chief minister. They are having eight CM faces....I challenge the party to declare its chief ministerial candidate,” PM Modi said while addressing a poll rally in Gwalior.
“How can a party chief, who cannot even decide who will be the chief minister, decide your future,” the prime minister asked.
The Congress, which is in opposition in Madhya Pradesh since 2003, has not declared its chief ministerial face to take on BJP’s Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the state which is going to the polls on November 28.
During the Congress rule, Madhya Pradesh was counted among ‘BIMARU’ states (a group of backward states) while under the BJP it is known as “Maximum Progress” (MP) state, he said, while appealing people to keep the Congress away from power.
The Congress’ state unit has been faction-ridden with Digvijay Singh, Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia leading some of the groups, though the party has maintained that it is united in its fight against the BJP .
The Prime Minister also referred to the “bad roads” of Madhya Pradesh under the Congress rule.
When Digvijay Singh was the chief minister, people came to know that they had reached Madhya Pradesh the moment they entered the state thanks to its pot-holed roads, Modi said.
(With PTI inputs)
