Shivraj Singh Chouhan took a dig at Kamal Nath over Maharashtra
Taking a dig at Congress leader Kamal Nath, who has been sent as the party's observer in Maharashtra amid the political crisis there, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said it was "amusing" to see someone who "failed to save his own government" in Madhya Pradesh now trying to rescue the Shiv Sena in the neighbouring state.
The Congress on Tuesday sent Kamal Nath as the party's observer in Maharashtra after Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde rebelled against his party along with a group of party MLAs and independents, pushing the Uddhav Thackery-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, of which Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress are also allies, to the brink of collapse.
"Now, Kamal Nath is off to Maharashtra. For what? To save the Maharashtra government," Mr Chouhan said in Ujjain while addressing a civic election meeting on Wednesday to gather support for the BJP.
Mr Chouhan's remark came at a time when Maharashtra is seeing what appears to be a rerun of the political drama that had unfolded in Madhya Pradesh in March 2020, which led to the collapse of the Congress government and the BJP's return to power.
"Isn't it amusing to see someone who failed to save his own government in Madhya Pradesh trying to rescue the one in Maharashtra? Congress never stops amazing us," the Chief Minister said, referring to the downfall of the 15-month-old Kamal Nath-led Congress government two years ago.
"Can this party ever do any good? It cannot as it is counting its last moment," he added.
Kamal Nath had to step down as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 2020 after 22 MLAs, most of them loyal to Jyotiraditya Scidia, resigned from the assembly, reducing the Congress to a minority with 92 MLAs in the 230-member house.
It paved the way for the return of the BJP in Madhya Pradesh at the helm after a 15-month rule of the Congress. The Congress rebels, including their leader Mr Scindia, were later inducted into the BJP. They all contested the assembly bypolls and most of them won.