'Feud' in MP Congress: BJP to hold protests against government

Alleging that bickering in the ruling Congress in Madhya Pradesh has eclipsed development, the opposition BJP on Monday announced to hold demonstrations on Wednesday to "wake up" the dispensation from its "slumber".

The faction-ridden Congress is in bind since Forest Minister Umang Singhar, believed to be close to senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia, made some critical remarks against party veteran and former chief minister Digvijaya Singh and accused him of running the government by proxy. He also called Singh a blackmailer.

"We will hold a one-day demonstration 'Ghantanad' (ringing bells) on Wednesday. We will ring bells on roads to wake up the Congress government from its slumber," said state BJP chief spokesman Deepak Vijayvargiya.

The BJP would also organise morchas at every district headquarters and submit memoranda to collectors, he added.

"The Kamal Nath government has turned a blind eye to corruption which is flourishing in the state. The government has shelved various welfare schemes meant for the poor and farmers while the satraps of Congress are fightingto ensure that their camps grab the post of state party president, as a result of which nothing worthwhile is taking place in the state," claimed Vijayvargiya.

A senior leader said on Sunday that Congress president Sonia Gandhi had referred the issue of the public spat, involving Digvijaya Singh and Singhar, to the party's central disciplinary committee.