Kamal Nath has accused BJP of creating confusion among farmers over gram, wheat
After accusing BJP of trying to buy 10 Congress legislators to topple his government, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Tuesday took a swipe at Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, Gopal Bhargav, stating that he was not aware of welfare scheme implemented in the state.
"After coming to power on December 17, 2018, our government started working for the public and several decisions were taken in their interest. Within 73 days, we have completed 85 promises. The most important decision was to waive off farmers' loan. We waived off loans of 21 lakh farmers, despite the fact that your government left empty coffers for us. However, you seem unaware of all this," Kamal Nath said in a letter to Mr Bhargav.
This comes after Mr Bhargav's appeal to Governor Anandiben Patel seeking to convene a special assembly session to discuss urgent issues of welfare schemes claiming they had stopped under Congress government.
The BJP has also demanded a floor test in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly alleging that the government is in minority.
Kamal Nath has accused BJP of creating confusion among farmers over gram and wheat procurement and payments. He said his government has been offering bonus on wheat and timely payments under Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana.
"Your government failed to provide payments to farmers last year, but our government completed that work within a week. Sambal and other schemes are continuing without any hindrance. Our government has reduced the electricity bill from Rs 200 to Rs 100 in favour of Sambal beneficiaries. Also, sufficient budget has been allocated for the availability of water. The law and order is in control," Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister said.
The beneficiaries in Gadhakota (Mr Bhargav's hometown) and Rehali (constituency represented by Mr Bhargav) have also befitted from the schemes, he added.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister said Mr Bhargav is writing to the governor on the basis of estimates and imagination as he was always available for addressing any doubt related to governance. He affirmed that Congress was always ready to debate on issues concerning public interest.
Mr Bhargav had earlier said that the Kamal Nath-led Congress government in the state will fall on its own. "You can yourself analyse the current situation. They have the support of one Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA, one MLA of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and four Independent MLAs. There is bickering within the party," he said.
"This government will fall on its own. I don't believe in horse-trading but I feel the government's time has come. It will have to go soon," he added.
He also spoke about the leadership crisis in the Congress.
"You can see the Congress has a leadership crisis as well. This is the main reason for the Congress'' decline. We are winning in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh just after six months that we lost in the Assembly polls, all because of the Congress's false promises and faulty policies," he said.
The 231-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly has 113 Congress members, one short of the half-way mark, while the BJP has 109 legislators. The ruling coalition, led by the Congress party, is supported by one MLA of Samajwadi Party, two of Bahujan Samaj Party and four independents.