MP CM Chouhan 'announcement machine', carries coconuts in pocket, says Nath; 'Corruption plaguing state'

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has turned into an “announcement machine” who carries coconuts with him and breaks them at will, said senior Congress leader Kamal Nath on Thursday.

Speaking at a public meeting in Balaghat, the former CM asked farmers to wait for five months, referring to the year-end MP assembly elections, to get the “minimum support price (MSP) on paddy”.

Buoyed up by its decisive win in Karnataka, where it won 135 of the 224 seats, the Congress has stepped up its attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the run-up to the MP elections.

“After 18 years, Shivraj Singh Chouhan is announcing schemes and wooing different sections of people given that the assembly polls are just five months away. He is carrying coconuts in his pocket and breaking them at his will (to lay foundation stones). Chouhan has turned into an announcement machine, announcement minister,” Nath said.

The senior Congress leader claimed that Chouhan has failed on all accounts, including tackling the COVID outbreak that he said left a trail of deaths.

“Price rise, unemployment and corruption are plaguing Madhya Pradesh under him. Mafia raj and rapes have increased. Liquor has entered almost all households in the state,” Nath said.

Investments are not coming to MP, alleged Nath. “Investments come due to faith (in the government). Why are investments going to Maharashtra instead of MP,” he asked, without elaborating.

During his 15-month tenure as the CM after the 2018 elections, Nath said, the Congress government waived the loans of thousands of farmers in Balaghat. Nath said his government had brought about a “revolution” in the agriculture sector in MP.

“What is the price of paddy in our neighbouring Maharashtra? What is the rate of paddy here (in MP)? Don’t worry. After 5 months, the Congress government is coming (to power in MP). You will get MSP for paddy,” he said in Balaghat, which is close to the Maharashtra border.

The former Union minister said that the Congress came to power in MP by winning votes in 2018 but its government was pulled down due to a “bargain”.

The last MP Assembly polls held on November 28, 2018, threw up a hung Assembly, with the Congress emerging as the largest party with 114 seats in the 230-member House. The BJP won 109 seats.

Though the Congress formed a coalition government under Nath, it fell in March 2020 after several MLAs loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia walked out and joined the BJP, paving the way for Chouhan to return as the chief minister.