Madhya Pradesh has seen a spilt in the political forces regarding the absence of the Balaghat collector and superintendent of police at the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s meeting in the district.
On Thursday Gandhi visited Balaghat where families of recently deceased tribal children had died after falling sick. He met with families affected, stated concerns about healthcare, education and welfare facilities for tribal people etc.
Madhya Pradesh Congress chief, Jitu Patwari, lashed out against the district administration for not sending the collector and SP on Gandhi’s visit. In the case of the visit of the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Patwari said senior district officials had to be in attendance.
However, the two officials failed to reach the spots, despite being provided with information and both officers stated the issue was also discussed with the chief secretary, Patwari said. He said the Congress would raise the issue on appropriate platform and hold the in-charge accountable.
Patwari also went about asking about the use of the money which was meant for tribal children, and also alleged that money allocated for welfare programmes was being used for political activities. Such assertions are part of the Congress’ criticism on the state administration.
BJP has denied Patwari’s claims. BJP spokesman Manjari Jain said the government has prepared for Gandhi’s visit, while Congress was resorting to threats to government officials in its politics.
The BJP sought any application/representation submitted by Congress to the collector / SP with regard to this visit by Patwari. The party claimed that accusations were made on the basis of inadequate facts.
The conflict is unfolding as part of a broader political discussion about the deaths of tribal children in Balaghat and health and welfare in the region. Gandhi has vowed to discuss the matter in Parliament and the State government and the BJP have been criticized by Congress and the opposition for their behavior in the matter.
Now, the flip-side sides of the controversy over the absence will likely continue to come back to politics in Madhya Pradesh with the Congress party saying it will tow the legislative path to continue with its grievances.