It's Cong's internal feud spilling out: Shivraj Singh on horse-trading charges

Refuting charges of horse-trading by the Congress, to topple the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh, former chief minister and BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan, on Wednesday (March 4) said the faction-ridden party is just blaming his party for its internal squabbles.

“Maamla unke ghar ka hai, aarop hum par lagate hain. Unka kaam kewal aarop lagana hai. Ab itne gutt hain Congress mein ki aapas mein hi maaram maar machi hui hai. (They are blaming us for their internal matter. All they know is to blame others. There is so much division within the Congress, that there is utter chaos in the party),” ANI quoted him as saying.

Kidnapping, horse-trading allegations

The Congress on Wednesday morning accused the BJP of trying to poach MLAs supporting the Kamal Nath government by taking them to a star hotel at Gurugram in Haryana.

According to reports, eight MLAs – four from the Congress, two from the Samajwadi Party (SP), one from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and one independent – were moved to the Gurugram hotel.

On Tuesday, Congress leader Digvijay Singh and Madhya Pradesh higher education minister Jitu Patwari had accused Chouhan of being the mastermind behind the whisking away of their MLAs. Patwari said former ministers Narottam Mishra, Bhupendra Singh and Rampal Singh had aided Chouhan in forcibly taking the eight MLAs to the Haryana hotel.

Related news: Crisis engulfs MP as MLAs camp in Gurugram hotel, CM says all’s well

“Shivraj Singh Chouhan is the mastermind behind all this; several videos and audios are viral now which reveal his role in everything that is happening. Madhya Pradesh ki sarkar ko koi khatra nahi hai,” said Jitu Patwari on Wednesday.

The Congress says, four of the eight MLAs have returned to its fold. According to reports, Patwari and Jaivardhan Singh had rushed to Delhi to bring back the Congress MLAs. They were seen leaving the ITC resort in Gurugram along with suspended BSP MLA Ramabhai.

Digvijaya Singh on Wednesday alleged that the other four MLAs are still being held by the BJP at the Gurugram resort and may be offered money by BJP leaders Rampal Singh, Narottam Mishra, Arvind Bhadauria and Sanjay Pathak, to shift their allegiance.

“We think 10-11 MLAs were there; only four are still with them now, they will also come back to us,” ANI quoted Singh as saying.

MLAs forced into planes, says Congress 

Singh alleged that the BJP had arranged two chartered flights – a 12-seater and a nine-seater – to whisk away the MLAs to Bengaluru.

“Four MLAs were taken in the 12-seater plane by six people. They were Congress MLA Bisahulal Singh, Raghuraj Singh Kansana and Hardeep Singh Dang, and independent MLA Surendra Singh Shera. They were waylaid and their phones were snatch making it difficult for them to contact anyone,” he alleged.

“Raghuraj Kanasana, a senior tribal leader in the Madhya Pradesh cabinet resisted for two hours, but he was forced into the plane. Bisahulal too didn’t want to go, but BJP’s Narottam Mishra with the help of anti-social elements manhandled him and forced him into the plane in the presence of Jitu Patwari and Jaivardhanji. Bisahulal’s wife and sons said they have been unable to contact him,” Singh said.

He said the other chartered (nine-seater) plane which was supposed to take off on Tuesday night, was asked to start at 9 am on Wednesday, as no more MLA was left to be ferried.

“As they could not find any more MLAs, through which Shivraj Singh had aspired to become the chief minister, they sent his personal secretary and gunman Neeraj Vashist to Bhopal instead of Bengaluru,” he said.

Chief Minister Kamal Nath, while admitting to the crisis, however, has said that his government is safe and that the remaining MLAs will come back.

Amid the crisis, the Congress has called a meeting of all Lok Sabha MPs led by party leader Rahul Gandhi to discuss the situation in Madhya Pradesh and others pertaining to the Delhi violence and vandalisation at the office of Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

Digvijay’s warning

The development comes two days after Digvijaya Singh levelled horse trading charges against the BJP. He said the BJP was trying to lure Congress MLAs by offering them bribe of ₹25 crore to ₹35 crore, to destabilise the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh.

He said BJP minister Bhupendra Singh had already taken suspended BSP MLA Ramabhai to Delhi in a chartered flight.

“I am speaking with evidence. They are offering ₹5 crore immediately and other instalments after the Rajya Sabha polls and if the Congress government falls,” he had alleged.

The BJP on its part has called the allegations of Digvijay Singh as an attempt to ensure his re-nomination to the Rajya Sabha, polls for which would be held on March 26.

(With inputs from agencies)