New Delhi: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday (June 22) took a jibe at his political rival Kamal Nath, who has been appointed as the All India Congress Committee (AICC) observer as the political crisis in Maharashtra, asked That’s how he will save the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government when he could not save his own in MP. Claiming that the Congress is counting down its “last moments”, Chouhan said, “Kamal Nath (MP Congress chief and former MP CM) has gone to Maharashtra… Anyone who could not save his government in Madhya Pradesh, could save Maharashtra.” How will the government save… Congress is counting its last moments.’ The MP CM made this remark while addressing a public meeting in Ujjain.
The Congress on Tuesday appointed senior leader and former MP CM Kamal Nath as AICC observer in view of the ongoing political turmoil in Maharashtra. Kamal Nath met NCP President Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on Wednesday and spoke to Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray over the phone. After meeting Nath at the Yashwantrao Chavan Centre, Pawar tweeted that they talked about “the upcoming presidential election and many other issues”.
The Congress, which has 44 MLAs in the Maharashtra Assembly, is in power along with the Shiv Sena and the NCP in the state.
Maharashtra political crisis
Shiv Sena MLA Eknath Shinde After a suspicious cross-voting in the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) elections a day earlier, Tuesday morning went “incommunicado”. He was found camping in a hotel on Dumas Road with over 30 rebel MLAs in Surat city on Monday night. Shinde along with other rebel MLAs flew from Surat to Guwahati in Assam on Wednesday morning. The four-time MLA has demanded the Shiv Sena to forge an alliance with the former ally BJP.
Uddhav Thackeray vacated CM House
As the threat to his government grew, Uddhav Thackeray vacated the CM’s official residence on Wednesday night, The move was taken after Shiv Sena approached dissidents and offered to step down. However, rebel leader and state cabinet minister Eknath Shinde stuck to his demand that the Shiv Sena should pull out of the “unnatural” ruling alliance MVA and claimed the support of a “substantial number” of MLAs. The CM moved out of his official residence ‘Varsha’ in south Mumbai, and shifted to Matoshree, the Thackeray family’s private bungalow in suburban Bandra. Notably, Shiv Sena has said that Uddhav Thackeray will not resign in view of the political crisis.
(with agency input)