INDIA bloc rally in Madhya Pradesh cancelled, says Kamal Nath

BHOPAL: Former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and state Congress chief Kamal Nath has said that the INDIA bloc comprising over two dozen opposition parties' first joint public meeting in Madhya Pradesh has been cancelled. Nath made the remark while talking to reporters in the state capital Bhopal on Saturday.

On being asked about the INDIA rally in the state, Nath said, “The rally is not going to happen. It has been cancelled.”

Earlier, INDIA bloc had decided to hold their first joint public meeting in Bhopal in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh in the first week of October and said the constituent parties would start seat-sharing talks at the earliest. The first meeting of the Coordination Committee of INDIA was held at NCP chief Sharad Pawar's residence in the national capital. After the INDIA Alliance Coordination Committee meeting, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal said that the Committee has decided to start the process for determining seat-sharing "at the earliest".

"The first meeting of the Coordination Committee was held at the residence of Sharad Pawar and attended by 12 members parties. Abhishek Banerjee of All India Trinamool Congress could not attend the meeting due to a summon by the Enforcement Directorate, arising out of the vendetta politics of Bharatiya Janata Party," the joint statement read.

“The Coordination Committee has decided to start the process for determining seat-sharing. It was decided that member parties would hold talks and decide at the earliest,” it stated.

“The committee decided to hold joint public meetings in different parts of the country. The first public meeting will be held at Bhopal in the first week of October on the issues of rising prices, unemployment and corruption of the BJP government," it said.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took a jibe at the INDIA bloc and said there was anger among the public that is why they cancelled the rally.

“This is anger of the public. Sanatan Dharma was insulted and was called dengue and Malaria. The people of Madhya Pradesh will not tolerate this insult of Sanatan Dharma. INDI alliance must understand that they have hurt our faith and this won't be tolerated at any cost. People of MP are angry and they (INDIA alliance) were scared that anger might not appear therefore they cancelled their rally. The public’s anger is against the INDI bloc and congress. The public will not leave them,” CM Chouhan said.

The opposition’s leadership has no strength. Wherever elections are held in BJP, everyone gets involved in work. There is a lot of chaos in Congress. They are fighting among themselves, whose photo is included and whose photo is not in posters, he added. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is visiting the state, BJP National President JP Nadda is arriving, everyone is united in the BJP, Chouhan said.