Bhopal: Launching a scathing attack on Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijay Singh on Saturday said the current MP CM has been abandoned by his party ahead of the assembly election.
“Vo bechara akela pad gaya hai … mujhe uspe daya aati hai. (He has been left alone, I feel pity for him),” said Singh, challenging CM Shivraj to share a stage with him and debate over the development in the state during BJP rule compared to the 10 years when Singh was the chief minister.
Both Congress and BJP have been battling rampant dissent from their MP candidates over ticket distribution.
Upset over being denied ticket, the Congress’s veteran leader Prem Singh Kushwah allegedly attempted to commit suicide by consuming poison on Friday. But Singh said the anguished leaders were like “my own children” and that a certain amount of dissent is obvious after the ticket distribution.
“Let them abuse me if they want. Let them burn 10-20 more effigies of mine if they want to,” Singh said, adding that the best thing is to let them vent their anger.
In October, the senior Congress leader had said he refrains from giving poll speeches as they end up costing his party crucial votes. “Jisko ticket mile, chahe dushman ko mile, jitao. Aur mera kaam kewal ek … koi prachar nahi … koi bhashan nahi. Mere bhashan dene se Congress ke vote kat te hain,” Singh had said during an informal chat with party workers. Taking a U-turn on his remarks on Saturday, he said he was merely referring to the perception spread by the BJP and RSS about his speeches costly Congress the votes.