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Thirteen of the 22 rebel MLAs in Madhya Pradesh have given an assurance that “they are not leaving the Congress”, senior party leader Digvijaya Singh said on Thursday while expressing confidence that the Kamal Nath-led government in the state will win a floor test.
“We are not keeping quiet. We are not sleeping,” Singh told PTI, a day after Congress leader from the state Jyotiraditya Scindia quit the Congress and 22 MLAs submitted their resignations from the assembly in Madhya Pradesh.
As uncertainty grew over the future of the Congress government in the state, pushed to the brink of collapse, Singh said nobody anticipated that Scindia, a former Union minister and four-time Lok Sabha MP, would quit the party. “We did not anticipate that Scindia will quit the Congress... that was a mistake,” Singh said.
He added that Scindia was offered the post of Madhya Pradesh deputy chief minister but wanted his nominee. However, Kamal Nath refused to accept a “chela”, he said.
Scindia, Singh said, could have been a Congress nominee to the Rajya Sabha but “only Modi-Shah” can give a Cabinet post to the “over-ambitious” leader.
The senior leader also claimed that Scindia was roped in by the BJP after Shivraj Singh Chouhan failed to topple the Cong government in Madhya Pradesh. He alleged that the MLAs were offered a huge amount of money.
Scindia, he said, could have been a Congress nominee to the Rajya Sabha but “only Modi-Shah” can give a Cabinet post to the “over-ambitious” leader.
'Government is safe'
Congress MP and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s son Nakul Nath was confident that the government in Madhya Pradesh will survive. "I am confident that the Madhya Pradesh government is safe. They (the MLAs) were misled and taken to Bengaluru," Nakul Nath told reporters outside Parliament.
Asked how Scindia’s exit from the Congress would impact the party in Madhya Pradesh, he said, “It will be a dent". However, he added, "MLAs who have gone to Karnataka will soon return to the Congress’ fold. I am very confident (the government will survive)."
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