Will stop BJP schemes breeding graft if back in power in MP: Kamal Nath
The Congress campaign in MP is woven around the allegation that a “50 per cent commission” system prevails in the state
If the Congress is voted to power in Madhya Pradesh, it will stop all those schemes launched by the BJP that breed corruption, the party’s state president Kamal Nath has said.
This came a day after Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan accused him of discontinuing welfare programmes. Nath was the Madhya Pradesh chief minister between 2018 and 2020. Assembly elections in the BJP-governed state are due in November.
“We are going to stop the schemes (launched by the BJP) that are breeding corruption. We did that in the past,” Nath told reporters in Bhopal on Sunday (September 24).
He said the “Sambal” scheme was beset with graft. “We plugged the loopholes in it and rechristened it as ‘Naya Savera’ (new dawn),” he said.
CM Chouhan on Saturday told the media in Bhopal that Nath had stopped many welfare schemes meant for the poor and even tribal women during his tenure between December 2018 and March 2020. Nath pointed out that he didn’t stop the scheme offering 100 units of electricity for Rs 100.
Corruption plank
The Congress has made corruption a major plank to target the Chouhan government ahead of the Assembly polls. Its campaign is woven around the allegation that a “50 per cent commission” system prevails in the state.
Nath said during his time, people were asked to bring proof and documents to benefit from schemes instead of “bribes and commission”, asserting that his party would thoroughly examine schemes that beget graft.
Asked about the Congress’s list of candidates for the state polls, the former Union minister said a meeting in that connection would be held in Delhi on Monday.
He said more than 4,000 people have sought party tickets for the 230 Assembly seats in MP. “None of them will say I am going to lose the elections,” Nath said, adding that a ticket aspirant’s bearing nowadays can be gauged from social media, emails and surveys.
Nath said his party will send signals to potential candidates to get down to work in advance.
(With agency inputs)
