Former Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan. (Express file photo)Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivrajsinh Chauhan criticised Congress President Rahul Gandhi for “deserting the ship when the captain should be the last to leave”, taunting him as “nakli (fake) Gandhi fulfilling the dream of asli (real) Gandhi of party’s dissolution after Independence”.
Chauhan said this while addressing media persons in Nagpur Thursday. He was on a visit to the city as part of his nationwide tour to oversee the party’s membership drive.
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He accused Gandhi of leaving the party rudderless in difficult times. “Congress is in dire straits. There is a stampede in the party and the party is on the ventilator. In such a situation, instead of getting into action mode, Rahul Gandhi left the party rudderless. Mahatma Gandhi had favored dissolution of Congress after Independence but nakli Gandhi is fulfilling the dream of asli Gandhi,” Chauhan said.
He also criticised the Congress party’s beholdenness to dynasty. “One family continued to have its stranglehold on the party and the whole party remained enslaved,” he said.
But when asked how he can talk of dynastic stranglehold and Rahul quitting as president in the same breath, Chauhan preferred to describe the resignation as “drama”.
Chauhan refuted allegations that BJP was behind the political crisis in Karnataka but also added that the BJP was in a position to stake a claim for forming government in the wake of the Congress-JD(S) government falling apart.
Asked if similar developments could be expected in Madhya Pradesh with BJP wresting power there, Chauhan said, “We are not doing any such thing anywhere. They are crumbling in Karnataka on their own. If we had the intention in Madhya Pradesh, we wouldn’t have allowed the Congress to form the government.”
Chauhan said, “We won 303 seats in the recent Lok Sabha elections. But our best is yet to come. We have to establish governments in states where we are not in power at present.”
He said, “We are raising a team of 200 workers for every booth and an army of 18,000 full-time vistaraks (extension workers) in Maharashtra. We already have 11 crore booth-level workers and have started membership drive with the target of six crore enrollments. But looking at the overwhelming response to the drive, we might reach up to 10-crore mark.”
He added, “Our mantra is sarvastariya, sarvavyapi BJP (BJP at all levels and everywhere). Our attempt is to get along with us also those, who are not currently with us. We are also reaching out to people in all walks of life and all professions and are getting them to join us.”
Chauhan, however, added: “We are not doing this all for power but BJP’s aim is of nation-building.”
