Union minister of state for commerce and industry Jyotiraditya Scndia said here on Saturday he is confident that all the prominent Congress leaders from Madhya Pradesh will work with full unity and bring the Congress back to power in Madhya Pradesh.
Mr Scindia, flanked by state Congress president Kantilal Bhuria, was addressing a press conference at the state Congress headquarters in the state capital. He said Madhya Pradesh needs a pro-people government. At present, there is no dearth of corruption in the state, he said. Crores of rupees are being seized in raids against corrupt officials, he alleged. The ministers are rolling in wealth and the state BJP government keeps complaining that the Centre is not giving funds, said Mr Scindia.
When his attention was drawn to the Dabra convention held at the initiative of his father, the late Madhavrao Scindia, to forge unity among state party leaders before the 1993 Assembly election, Mr Scindia said this convention was held when all state Congress leaders had sat down together repeatedly and taken the vow that they will remain united. Today, once again, before going for the 2013 electoral battle, all Congress leaders from Madhya Pradesh will have to sit down together, if necessary several times in a row, to build unity and work with the same Dabra spirit, he said.
There is a wind blowing in favour of the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, observed Mr Scindia. Stressing the importance of image, he said the selection of party candidates for the next round of elections will have to be done on a serious note because the people have started watching keenly the selection of candidates by different political parties. Asked about separate political “yatras” being taken out by different state Congress leaders, Mr Scindia said Madhya Pradesh is a large state and there is nothing wrong in leaders campaigning on their own.
Answering a pointed query, Mr Scindia said: “I am not in any race (for the chief minister’s post). I have a clear mind, which has not changed even an iota since 2002. I am a simple party worker and a soldier. Working for the party is not only my responsibility, but my dharma (religion).”
Mingling with the party workers, knowing them closely, identifying the bright among them and helping in their progress is a task one is constantly trying to fulfil keeping in view the ideals of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and senior party leader Rahul Gandhi.”