MP minister unhappy with Scindia's Maha poll assignment

A Madhya Pradesh minister considered close to senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia expressed displeasure at the latter being given the responsibility of the party's screening committee for the forthcoming Maharashtra Assembly polls.

State Women and Child Development Minister Imarti Devi said Scindia, instead, should have been given "responsibility" of Madhya Pradesh, going on to add that no one knew the latter in Maharashtra.

Scindia was one of the front-runners for the post of MP chief minister after the Congress defeated the BJP in Assembly polls in December last year.

The Congress, however, decided to go with senior leader Kamal Nath, leaving several in the Scindia camp unhappy. Scindia went on to lose the April-May Lok Sabha polls from stronghold Guna.

"I cannot rejoice. I am not happy with this (new assignment to Scindia). What is this responsibility? If he should have been given the responsibility, it should have been that of Madhya Pradesh. Who knows him there (Maharashtra)," Devi told reporters on Friday.

Scindia was earlier made Congress general secretary in charge of western Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha polls. The party, however, was routed in the northern state with only Sonia Gandhi managing to retain her Rae Bareli seat and Rahul Gandhi getting trounced by Union minister Smriti Irani in Amethi.

Following the LS debacle, Scindia had tendered his resignation as western UP party general secretary.