Pressure On Digvijay As Arvind Netam Joins Bsp

Former Union minister and senior Congress leader from Madhya Pradesh Arvind Netams decision to join the Bahujan Samaj Party is likely to mount pressure on Machya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh to relinquish his office in deference to a tribal leader.

Netam, who was denied a Congress ticket for contesting the 1996 Lok Sabha elections on the ground of his name figuring in the hawala scandal, yesterday announced his decision to join the BSP in front of BSP chief Kanshi Ram and UP Chief Minister Mayawati in Lucknow.

There has been a demand for a tribal Chief Minister for Madhya Pradesh. The demand, spearheaded by Congress leaders Ajit Jogi and Dilip Singh Bhuria, had the tacit support of Netam. Significantly, Congress president Sitaram Kesri had announced just before the 1993 Assembly elections that if voted to power the Congress would elect a tribal Chief Minister. Kesri was then party treasurer and AICC observer.

The move will further consolidate a scheduled caste and scheduled tribe combine in favour of the BSP, much to the chagrin of the Congress. The BSP, which has a large following in the southern part of the state among SCs, may get a new lease of life after Netams entry into its fold in the state.

Netam, who belongs to predominantly tribal district of Bastar, has a large following among tribals. The tribals, who constitute more than 40 per cent of the population of the state, have been loyal to the Congress. And Netams entry will be a jolt to the Congress.

Two prominent Samajwadi Party leaders Rajendra Tripathi, who was minister in the then VP Singh and Mulayam Singh Yadav governments in Uttar Pradesh and Bipin Behari and Bashir Ahmed, former Congress MLA, also joined the BSP alongwith Netam yesterday.

Netam said he quit the Congress for being neglected by the party leadership. Other leaders joining BSP said they resigned from their parties as these had deviated from their original principles and policies. Meanwhile, the MP Chief Minister Digvijay Singh said in Bhopal that he could not understand the reasons behind Netams decision to joing the BSP.

The Chief Minister, in a statement said the state government had always given importance to suggestions and recommendations made by Netam for the welfare of tribals and the development of his area.

Singh said that since December 1993, his government had taken a lot of steps for the development of tribal areas and added that the Congress was the only party which was committed to the welfare of tribals and dalits.s

Netam represented Kanker constituency in Lok Sabha from the tribal-dominated Bastar district of Madhya Pradesh, since 1980.

Netams move to join the BSP is surprising since it has come at a time when his wife, Chhabila Netam is the Congress MP from Kanker and his younger brother Shiv Netam is the state forest minister.