‘Undemocratic pandemic’: Kamal Nath writes to PM Modi after three Congress MLAs resign in Madhya Pradesh

Kamal Nath slams BJP after 3 Congress MLAs in Madhya Pradesh resign from Legislative Assembly. (file)

Senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, exhorting him to protect ‘democratic values’. Nath’s letter comes after three Congress MLAs resigned in the last two weeks.

Nath accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of using money and muscle power to buy opposition MLAs. He said that there was an ‘undemocratic pandemic’ prevailing in the country in which the BJP was luring away MLAs to topple elected governments in states ruled by opposition parties.

Nath expressed hope that PM Modi will come forward to save the declining credibility of Indian democracy.

“I am sure…you will come forward to save the declining credibility of Indian democracy by not giving any place in your government and the party to such opportunist leaders who are facing charges of trading democratic values, so that India’s established identity as a nation having democratic neutrality, transparency and maturity will remain intact,” the letter reads.

The three Congress MLAs who quit from the Assembly membership are Narayan Patel, Sumitra Devi Kasdekar and Pradyuman Singh Lodhi.

While Patel, an MLA from Mandhata, resigned from Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Thursday, Sumitra Devi Kasdekar and Pradyuman Singh Lodhi had quit the party and joined the BJP earlier this month.

Nath said that the toppling of his government was among the most abominable act in the history of Indian democracy.

“When the whole world was fighting coronavirus, a senior BJP leader along with….MLAs went away to Bengaluru to topple my government,” he alleged.

The Congress veteran said that the federal structure is the beauty of Indian democracy as per Dr BR Ambedkar, but the same structure was now under attack.

The Congress government headed by Kamal Nath in Madhya Pradesh lost power in March after 22 party MLAs joined the BJP. The MLAs then joined the BJP and more than a dozen of them are ministers in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government. The Congress government was pulled down after a rebellion by Jyotiradiyya Scindia who quit the party after denial of Rajya Sabha berth. He had then joined the BJP and was elected to the Rajya Sabha.