Former CM Kamalnath says can’t prove majority due to Coronavirus but at the same time Organises mass protest in Bhopal, Congress workers gathered in vast numbers and staged ‘dharna’ outside MP BJP office
The Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh is defying all constitutional norms. It seems to be preparing for an unprecedented showdown with the Centre
Sangeet Verma
On March 16th, 2019, the speaker defied the Governor’s instruction to hold a vote of confidence in the Madhya Pradesh assembly, creating political anarchy in the state.
Chief Minister Kamal Nath, alleges that his MLAs are ‘captive’. In contrast, these MLAs have repetitively denied the allegation not just on video, but in affidavits filed in the supreme court of India. The 22 MLAs also held a press conference. They vehemently rejected the ‘captivity’ charges, alleging the behaviour of Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh was responsible for the fall of Congress government in Madhya Pradesh.
What is most surprising is that the speaker N.P. Prajapati had adjourned the state assembly on the March 16th without the vote of trust siting danger of ‘coronavirus’ in the construction. Funny because till date, not one patient of the corona has been found in the state. His lies are also exposed because not just the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, but many other state assemblies are also in session and are taking precautions yet functioning well.
However, the biggest surprise came on Wednesday the 18th, when Digvijaya Singh was arrested in Bengaluru. The same Congress, whose speaker had adjourned the house citing ‘coronavirus’ called for its cadres in Bhopal to gather and take to the roads against Digvijaya’s arrest in Bengaluru. The fear and precaution of ‘corona’ had suddenly vanished.
At around 5 pm, a few thousand Congress workers with women in front broke police barriers and attacked state BJP headquarters. The women Congress workers displayed a Shaheen Bagh style move, blocking the roads, while others pelted stones. The police had a tough time controlling the rioting Congress workers. All this was happening in the face of the court case being heard at the highest court of the country.
However, this sudden eruption of violence was not random. The State Government has been carefully planning its moves in a typical Indira Gandhi Emergency style of 1975, which is no surprise as that was the training ground of the current Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
Since March 10th 2020, since the Congress lost its majority in Madhya Pradesh, the Kamal Nath government has come down slowly on state BJP leaders, their supporters, independent journalists and institutions.
The chief secretary and the DGP of the State have been removed overnight and replaced with Kamal Nath loyals in the bureaucracy. Several district collectors have been transferred, and those who would favour Congress have been given charge of districts across the state.
The new Chief Secretary, Gopal Reddy, is infamously close to Kamal Nath and is believed to have been using pressure and administrative power to harass the MLAs for supporting Congress by pressurising their families.
Independent journalists and social media activists are being harassed by filing cases against their family members, and an overall atmosphere of fear and uncertainty looms large in Madhya Pradesh. The government is showing its canines and claws, hinting at a massive crackdown if it survives.
The most significant move that is a hint of the things to come is a notification by the Kamal Nath government to create temporary jails in all the districts of the State, in case of mass arrests. It shows that the government is preparing for a showdown with not just the central government and constitution, but also with the masses. Meanwhile, the Karnataka high court has rejected Digvijaya Singh’s request to pass an interim order to meet the rebel MLAs. The Congress is facing defeat after defeat, each making it more aggressive.
The state of Madhya Pradesh, meanwhile, remains apprehensive and restless.
(The writer is a Bhopal-based senior journalist)
