"Kamal Nath has become just the Chief Minister of Chhindwara and not Madhya Pradesh," quipped one of the rebels. (Photo Credit: ANI/Twitter)
New Delhi:
The political crisis in Madhya Pradesh doesn't seem to end anytime soon. On Tuesday, the rebel MLAs of the Congress finally broke the silence and said that they were not under any influence or pressure. Addressing media from a Bengaluru resort, the rebel Congress leaders said that they had come to the Karnataka's capital on their own. They said that Kamal Nath was not fulfilling his duties as the leader of the state and the party. "He has become just the Chief Minister of Chhindwara and not Madhya Pradesh," quipped one of the rebels. While everyone denied joining the BJP anytime soon, the influence of Jyotiradiya Scindia was quite evident. "Jyotiraditya Scindia is our leader. He taught us a lot. I'll always stay with him even if I had to jump in a well," rebel Congress MLA Imarti Devi was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Govind Singh Rajput, another rebel MLA slammed Kamal Nath for not listening to the leaders. "Kamal Nath Ji never heard us even for 15 minutes. Then whom should we talk to for development work in our constituency," Rajput asked. The Congress, on the other hand, has been saying that the MLAs have not rebelled against party. "They have been kidnapped, taken hostage on gunpoint," a Congress leader said. Last week, 22 Congress MLAs resigned in a coordinated revolt soon after Scindia quit the party. There are two vacancies in the Assembly. The Congress has a wafer-thin majority in the 228-member Assembly. Before the rebellion, its tally was 114. It also has the support of four Independents, two BSP MLAs and one from the SP, but some may now switch sides to the BJP. So far, the resignations of the 6 MLAs have been accepted. The Congress, on its own, will then be left with 92 seats, while the BJP has 107 with the magic number for a majority being 104.
(With agency inputs)
