Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], August 26 : Madhya Pradesh Congress Chief Jitu Patwari on Monday played down seeming differences between senior party leaders in the state - former chief ministers Digvijaya Singh and Kamal Nath over the political crisis that erupted in March 2020 leading to the collapse of the then Congress government in the state.
He said the two leaders have an affectionate and long-standing relationship of 45 years, and there is no use discussing a past event.
"There is an affection, love and relationship of brotherhood between both the leaders for over 45 years. Both the leaders share chemistry, they have an art of how to be in discussion. We should not worry about them and there is no point in discussing the past. It is my duty to see the future, and to work on how to return to power in the coming days," Patwari told reporters.
The government led by Kamal Nath, that was formed after Congress came to long wait of 15-years, collapsed in about 15 months.
The matter again hit the headlines after Digvijaya Singh recently spoke over the issue in a podcast interview of a private channel which he shared on his official X handle on Sunday morning.
Soon, Kamal Nath also shared his views and took a veiled jibe.
"I am saddened by the fact that we were deceived by those whom we had blind trust. We never imagined that Scindia would leave the party...It was not an ideological clash but a clash of personalities. As a result of which, we lost power in the state.
"...I had already warned that the horse trading of MLAs could happen. I also had asked an industrialist, who knows both Scindia and Nath closely, to resolve the issue between these two leaders. Following which, a dinner party was organised at his residence and I was present in it. I tried a lot to resolve the issue but the points which were made at the dinner party were not followed and it is true. It was not followed despite my efforts...There were some demands on which we jointly signed our wish list but it was not followed," Singh said.
Kamal Nath took to his official X handle and said Jyotiraditya Scindia, who is now a Union Minister, felt Digvijaya Singh was running the government.
"Recently, some statements have been made regarding the fall of the Congress government led by me in Madhya Pradesh in 2020. I just want to say that there is no point in digging up old issues. But the truth is, apart from personal ambition, Jyotiraditya Scindia felt that Digvijaya singh was running the government. In this resentment, he (Scindia) broke away Congress MLAs and brought down our government," Nath posted on X.
BJP Spokesperson Pankaj Upadhyay took a jibe at the Congress leaders saying there was factionalism and internal conflict in the party.
"This is a result of factionalism and infighting within the Congress party. It is the struggle between Mr. Bantadhar (Digivijaya Singh) and Mr. Corruption Nath (Kamal Nath) and its outcome. The government fell due to the insult of workers, betrayal of promises and the internal conflict between Digvijay Singh and Kamal Nath," Upadhyay said.
Jyotiraditya Scindia, along with 22 loyalist MLAs, switched over to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) camp in 2020. BJP later formed government in the state.