Madhya Pradesh: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday lashed out at Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government in Madhya Pradesh and cornered the BJP over the issue of Manipur violence. Quoting BR Ambedkar who used to say that we shouldn't do politics of hate but for a change, Kharge said that the Congress will conduct a caste census in Madhya Pradesh after winning the assembly elections in the state.
Mallikarjun Kharge was addressing a public rally at Kajlivan Maidan in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh's Bundelkhand region. Assembly polls are expected to be held in the BJP-ruled state at the end of the year.
Kharge announced that the Congress will establish a university in Sagar in the name of Sant Ravidas as soon as their government is formed.
The Congress chief also mentioned about giving Rs 1,500 to women adding that the money will be increased in the future. He also promised to give LPG cylinder for Rs 500 and 100 units of electricity for Rs 100.
The BJP government has not implemented the Bundelkhand package sanctioned on the recommendation of senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, said Kharge.
The Congress president criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of not doing “anything” for violence-hit Manipur.
Referring to the laying of the foundation stone of a Rs 100 crore memorial-cum-temple of Sant Ravidas, a revered figure for Scheduled Castes, by PM Modi earlier this month, Kharge said “they laid the foundation of Saint Ravidas temple in Sagar but demolished his in Delhi”.
He alleged that PM Modi remembered Saint Ravidas only during elections. As per the 2011 Census, the population of Dalits in MP was 1.13 crore.
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath also hit out at the BJP government in the state over the issue of unemployment, corruption, atrocities and scams. Kamal Nath said that the biggest challenge in Madhya Pradesh is unemployment.
Hitting out at PM Modi, Kamal Nath said that he (Prime Minister) remembered Sant Ravidas only in elections. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan remembered after 18 years.... His aim was not to build a temple but it's a formula for drawing votes... the BJP always insults the mandate... we won with mandate but they have snatched power from us.
Bundelkhand, in north east MP, has six Assembly seats reserved for SCs, and the BJP had won five of them in the 2018 state polls, namely Bina, Naryoli, Jatara, Chandala and Hatta, while the Congress managed to get Gunnor.
Bundelkhand comprises Sagar, Chattarpur, Tikamgarh, Nimari, Damoh and Panna districts, with 26 Assembly seats, of which 15 were won by the BJP in the last state polls, while the Congress got nine and and one each was won by Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party.
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