Bhopal:
Union minister Amit Shah on Tuesday alleged that state Congress chief Kamal Nath when he was chief minister turned Madhya Pradesh into an “ATM of the Congress.” He was speaking at a rally in Deotalab constituency in Mauganj district of the state ahead of the November 17 assembly elections.
The Congress-led UPA government gave Rs 2 lakh crore to Madhya Pradesh in ten years while the Narendra Modi-led government gave Rs 6.35 lakh crore in grant to the state in the last nine years, the BJP leader claimed.
In addition, the Centre provided Rs 5 lakh crore for roads, industrial corridors, railways and several other projects, he said.
“On the other hand, Kamal Nath did nothing except making Madhya Pradesh an ATM of the Congress party,” Amit Shah alleged.
Accusing the Congress of doing dynastic politics, he said, “Congress wants a rule of three families in Madhya Pradesh. Kamal Nath wants to make his son Nakul Nath chief minister…..Digvijaya Singh wants to settle his son Jaivardhan Singh while Sonia Gandhi wants her son Rahul Baba to become PM.” Can a party which is in politics for the sons and daughters of its leaders do good for the public, Amit Shah went on to ask.
“People have two options — Congress which is involved in dynastic politics for their sons and daughters, vested-interests and corruption, and the BJP which ensures the country’s security and enhances its prosperity and prestige,” he said. The Congress government led by Digvijaya Singh (from 1993-2003) turned Madhya Pradesh into a BIMARU (laggard) state and one could not tell in those days if there were potholes in a road or a road in potholes, Amit Shah added.
In the 18 years of BJP rule, Madhya Pradesh has become “bemisal” (incomparable) and if voted to power again, the state will be made the best state of the country, he said.
Amit Shah also claimed that the Congress did not implement the Kaka Kalelkar report and Mandal Commission report which recommended reservations for the Other Backward Classes.
“Your (Rahul Gandhi’s) father Rajiv Gandhi opposed the implementation of the Mandal Commission report,” the BJP leader said.
Prime minister Modi, on the other hand, gave a constitutional status to the Backward Classes Commission and for the first time gave as much as 35 percent of posts to the OBC community in his cabinet by appointing 27 OBC ministers, he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)