MP minister accuses Digvijaya Singh of trying to 'destabilise' Cong govt

A minister in Madhya Pradesh has alleged that Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh (pictured) is trying to “destabilise” the Kamal Nath government. Forest Minister Umang Singhar wrote a letter to that effect to Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Sunday. Chief Minister Kamal Nath (pictured) retains the post of state unit president. Singh recently wrote to state ministers, urging them to meet him so that he could find out what action was being taken on his recommendations for transfers. Singhar took strong exception to Singh's letter and, without taking his name, said the former chief minister was running the government from “behind the curtain”. “He (Singh) had also written letters to Nath regarding (the) Vyapam, e-tendering and tree plantation scams, but had not written about the Simhast (Kumbh Mela held in Ujjain in 2016) scam as his son Jaivardhan Singh is now heading the urban administration and development ministry. The Congress had made it (Simhast scam) a big issue while it was in the Opposition," Singhar alleged.

Other side of slowdown

At a time when getting reactions on the slowdown is like a ritual, a prominent personality who has straddled the two worlds of government as well as business had a funny anecdote to narrate when asked where India was headed. A reporter had called him some years ago late in the night to get his views on the Indian economy. His answer was, “I wasn’t sure about the economy during the day, how can I say anything now?’’ The following day, he asked his staff to remove his mobile number from his visiting cards. But the executive, who is on the board of several companies and is perhaps thinking more about the slowdown now, did offer his views on the Indian economy.”Of course there’s a slowdown, but I’m an optimist.”

Location, location, location 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated the Garvi Gujarat Bhavan in New Delhi. The Bhavan is situated opposite the Congress’ headquarters at 24, Akbar Road. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his deputy Nitin Patel were present, as was former chief minister of the state and Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel. The Bhavan is located next to the official residence of the chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF). It is also symbolic that the IAF chief's residence has a replica of the Rafale fighter jet installed right outside. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi had made alleged irregularities in the Rafale fighter jet deal the central plank of his party's 2019 election campaign against the Bharatiya Janata Party. Needless to say, the symbolism of the Gujarat Bhavan and Rafale replica is not lost on Congress leaders and workers.