Shivraj Singh Chouhan completes 11 yrs as CM, praises Advani

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who completed 11 years in office today, lavished praises on party stalwart L K Advani, saying everybody including Prime Minister Narendra Modi has immense respect for the BJP patriarch.
"We all, including Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) have immense respect for Advaniji," he told reporters here.
"Advaniji is our respected leader and workers like me have become effective under his able guidance," Chouhan said when asked whether he has stopped inviting Advani to the state or the latter has stopped visiting after Modi became the Prime Minister.
Chouhan, amid a peal of laughter, was quick to add that nothing should be read into it.

Before Modi became Prime Minister, Advani used to visit Madhya Pradesh often, especially during launch of welfare schemes initiated by the Chief Minister.
On his terming the eight SIMI activists as "terrorists" despite they being under-trials, Chouhan said perceptions are formed on the basis of work, and their deeds were not good.

"I don't want to go deep into it," he added.
He held that the society should be saved from the people who are a threat, adding that menace of dacoity in the state has been wiped off after he took charge as chief minister.
"My government is courteous to good people and hard on people who trouble public," he added.

To a poser regarding health care service, education and employment sector in MP, he said these sectors have improved immensely in last 13 years after BJP came to power.
When asked to about the most joyous and the saddest moments or incidents in the last 11 years as the chief minister, Chouhan said he was delighted with his flagship Ladli Laxmi Yojana (programme) for the girl child, aimed at improving the skewed sex ratio.
The Petlawad explosions in Jhabua district in September 2015, where a series of blasts in the illegal stockpile of gelatin sticks and other explosions had left more than 100 people dead, had deeply saddened him, the CM said.

Chouhan said he is not opposed to his criticism as it is a healthy practice in democracy.