Kamal Nath accuses BJP of pulling down his government by indulging in horse trading

Bhopal: Congress veteran and former chief minister Kamal Nath on Thursday accused the ruling BJP of indulging in horse trading to topple his 15-month-old government in March, bringing in ‘aya Ram gaya Ram’ (encouraging defection of elected representatives) politics in the state.

Nath said BJP brought disrepute to Madhya Pradesh by indulging in horse trading, which was hitherto alien to political culture of the state, to pull down his government.

He was talking to reporters while emerging from chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s official residence here where he had a closed-door meeting with him that lasted nearly half-an-hour.

Nath said they held discussions on ensuing three-day session of MP Assembly, scheduled to commence on September 21. He however refused to elaborate further.

Nath dismissed the charges made by the BJP that his government had failed to deliver the promise of waiving crop loans of farmers.

"My government had waived crop loans of 26.5 lakh farmers and the rest beneficiaries would have been covered in phases," Nath said while presenting pen drive to the media containing the details of beneficiaries of the scheme during his regime.

Nath said he wanted to promote the state as an investment destination by creating a brand of MP in the national and international level.

"I wanted to create a brand of MP outside the state. But, BJP has tainted the image of the state by indulging in horse trading to pull down my government, formed with due mandate of the people," he said.

He said the upcoming by-polls to 27 Assembly constituencies in the state may change course of history of the state.

"I will not call it a mini-Assembly election. But, I will say the ensuing Assembly by-polls will change course of history of the state and also the fate of this government," he said apparently claiming that Congress would return to power in the state in the by-elections.

While BJP has a strength of 107 in the 230-member MP assembly whose effective strength has reduced to 203 after 25 former Congress MLAs resigned from the house and two others passed away. Congress has 89 MLAs.

Of the rest seven MLAs, two are from Bahujan Samaj Party, one from Samajwadi Party and five are Independents.