Congress MP lauds Scindia for starting new Jabalpur flights amid party's 'treachery' jibe

In an interesting development on Monday, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha thanked new Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia for starting 8 new flights. SpiceJet will operate flights on the Gwalior-Mumbai-Gwalior, Gwalior-Pune-Gwalior, Jabalpur-Surat-Jabalpur, Ahmedabad-Gwalior-Ahmedabad routes under the aegis of the UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme. Launched in June 2016, this scheme is aimed at enhancing connectivity to remote and regional areas of India and making air travel affordable.

Congress MP Vivek Tankha tweeted, "Jabalpur got this gift just a few days after Jyotiraditya Scindia assumed charge as the Civil Aviation Minister. Thank you! Madhavrao ji too always gave priority to Jabalpur after Gwalior. We expect the same from you." 

This assumes significance as the Madhya Pradesh Congress unit had staged a black balloon protest against his induction into the Union Cabinet. Claiming that Scindia has been rewarded by the BJP for his treachery, Congress took a dig at Scindia's portfolio - the Aviation ministry. Warning his colleagues of his 'scheming', Congress claimed that the 'sold-out Maharaj would now sell off Air India'. 

Scindia's BJP entry

A 4-term Lok Sabha MP who entered electoral politics after his father Madhavrao Scindia's death, he suffered a shocking defeat to BJP's KP Singh Yadav in the 2019 General Election. His resentment with Congress increased as Scindia was not considered for the CM's post in MP. The Congress government in the state plunged into crisis after his sudden resignation from the Congress party on March 10, 2020, followed by 22 MP Congress MLAs putting in their papers. 

Ruling on a plea of BJP leaders seeking an immediate floor test, a two-judge SC bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and Hemant Gupta observed that the MP Assembly session should be reconvened for the sole purpose of holding a floor test by show of hands. Most importantly, rebel MLAs were not compelled to attend the session. As the Congress party was short of a majority, Kamal Nath announced his resignation on March 20.

While he was elected as a Rajya Sabha member in June 2020 on a BJP ticket, speculation was rife that he had agreed to jump ship on the promise of a Cabinet berth. In November 2020, Scindia mounted a strong campaign for the by-elections thwarting Nath's bid to return as the CM. After BJP won 19 out of 28 seats, BJP secured a simple majority on its own. Along with 42 other Ministers, Scindia was finally inducted into the Union Cabinet on July 7.