Shivraj Chouhan photographed with Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia, their arms raised in jubilation.
Highlights
- Kamal Nath took oath to become Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister
- BJP's Shivraj Singh Chouhan passed baton to his Congress successor
- Invited on stage, the leaders linked arms and raised them in jubilation
The oath ceremony of Kamal Nath presented a glimpse of rare courtesy and grace in politics as BJP's Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the three-time Chief Minister of the state, took an active part in the event to pass the baton to his Congress successor. Invited on stage, the 59 year-old, who had been fondly called "Mama" by the people of the state, was photographed with his successor and Jyotiraditya Scindia, their linked arms raised in jubilation.
The rare photo-op took place as his party colleagues in Delhi was ripping in Mr Nath over the Delhi High Court verdict convicting Congress leader Sajjan Kumar for involvement in the anti-Sikh riots after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984.
"It is sad that the '84 judgment has come on a day when a senior leader who Sikhs believe to be behind riots, is being made a minister," said union finance minister Arun Jaitley.
Kamal Nath, who became party chief Rahul Gandhi's choice for the post after steering the faction-ridden party to trounce the BJP, has said that there is no police case against him.
"I took oath in 1991 and several times after that, no one said anything. There is no case, FIR, or chargesheet against me. Today they are raking up this matter. You can understand politics behind this?" Mr Nath said.
Explaining the former Chief Minister's show of unity, Rahul Kothari BJP spokesperson told NDTV, "This shows how gracious our leader is, he believes in the ideology that victory-defeat happens in politics but there is no place for bitterness."
After the counting of votes, Shivraj Singh Chouhan had stepped down, taking sole responsibility for the party's defeat in the state. The BJP was beaten by a narrow margin - 5 seats. The Congress, however, fell short of majority by two seats and managed to reach the target with the support of Mayawati.
Senior BJP leader Ram Madhav tweeted: "Proud of Shivraj Singh Chauhan. Spirited fight. More votes; short of majority in a hung house; but no temptation for harakiri; graceful exit by submitting resignation. He won d hearts even in party's sad electoral loss."