For the first time since a rebellion led by him resulted in the fall of the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh, BJP’s recently elected Rajya Sabha MP Jyotiraditya Scindia has said that he was offered the deputy chief minister’s post in the previous dispensation headed by Kamal Nath.
Stating that he is not greedy for power, Scindia said that he had refused the offer as he could foresee the future of the government in the next 15 months.
In what seemed to be an apparent rebuttal of ‘gaddar’ (disloyal) and ‘power greedy’ accusations hurled at him by the Congress, the Scindia family scion said, “I am a servant of the public and not the chair (power). Had I been greedy of chair, I would have accepted the deputy CM’s offer made by the Congress.”
Scindia directly addressed Nath and senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh while speaking at a BJP workers’ convention in Gwalior on Sunday. “Kamal Nath ji, Digvijaya Singh ji, if I was power greedy, I would have accepted the offer then and there,” he added Scindia.
Soon after, the Congress leadership refuted Scindia’s claims. Party’s media cell in-charge Narendra Saluja said, “Scindia is saying he was offered the deputy CM’s post in the Congress government, but the party never did anything like that. He is just bragging this to underline his importance in the BJP.” Saluja said that Scindia has been complaining that he was not made chief minister, but had received only 19 votes in the meeting of MLAs.
A massive protest was taken out by the Congress in Gwalior on Saturday when Scindia took part a BJP membership drive in the city. This was his first major public appearance in the former royal estate that his family once ruled. On Monday, BJP’s state chief VD Sharma said 76,361 new members have been added into the party organisation.
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