Sonia Gandhi Apprised On Infighting In Madhya Pradesh Congress Unit

Congress general secretary in-charge of Madhya Pradesh Deepak Babariya today met party chief Sonia Gandhi and submitted a report on the infighting in the party's state unit and the unsavoury remarks made by partymen in public.

Babariya said he has submitted his observations to Gandhi over the infighting after meeting several leaders in the state unit. He warned partymen against indulging in indiscipline and making out-of-turn statements, saying doing so would attract strict action from the party.

Sources said he has also made a few suggestions to stop the infighting but has left the final decision to the Congress chief.

"I have apprised Congress president Sonia Gandhi of the developments. She is seized with the matter and she will take a decision after considering everything," he told PTI.

Babariya said the dignity of senior leaders should be maintained.

"No one should go public with their remarks against their own partymen. Anybody who indulges in indiscipline or goes to the media out of turn will face serious consequences," he said.

The Madhya Pradesh Congress is facing infighting with top leaders going public against each other. There is also a tussle over the post of party president in the state.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath also holds the post of the state unit president and Jyotiraditya Scindia is keen to wrest the post. Scindia had lost the race of CM to Nath narrowly after the Congress came to power in the state in December last year after 15 years.

Madhya Pradesh Minister Umang Singhar, said to be close to Scindia, has made critical statements against former chief minister Digvijaya Singh and accused the former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh of running the Nath government from behind the curtains. He also called Singh a blackmailer.

After the public spat, Scindia on Wednesday expressed displeasure over the current state of affairs in the MP unit but backed Singhar, saying Chief Minister Nath should listen to him and sort out the differences.

Also, two Congress MLAs reportedly accused Madhya Pradesh Public Health and Family Welfare Minister Tulsiram Silawat of corruption, which the minister denied, saying, "It is a matter of our family."

Silawat, too, is considered to be close to Scindia.