"MP was known as 'Bimaru' state under Congress rule”: Amit Shah

BHOPAL: Presenting the 20-year report card of the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the state used to be counted among the "Bimaru" (sick) ones during five decades of Congress rule.

The Union Home Minister further accused the Congress of bottling the initiatives and welfarist schemes launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, when in power.

Terming former CM and current Congress state chief Kamal Nath as "Corruption Nath", Shah, addressing a public meeting in the poll-bound state, said, "The Congress was in power in Madhya Pradesh for 53 years, leaving aside 6-7 years in between. In 53 years of governance of the Congress, MP came to be tagged as a 'Bimaru' state."

"Congress stopped the initiatives that were started by PM Modi and Shivraj Singh Chouhan. They crippled our 'Garib Kalyan' initiative. On social media, Kamal Nath's government was also called 'Corruption Nath'," Shah said at the event in Bhopal.

Further, listing the achievements of the BJP government over the last 20 years, the Home Minister termed the saffron party rule as a "golden period" in the state's history.

"The last 20 years have turned out to be the golden period in the state, especially when it comes to eradication of poverty. The groundwork has been laid to make Madhya Pradesh a developed state in the coming years. Along with this, work on laying the foundation for making MP a self-reliant state has also been done. Be it in the field of health, industrial development, agricultural development or education, we will work to make the state self-sufficient in the next 20 years," Shah said.

"The Congress gave only Rs 1,98,000 crores to Madhya Pradesh in 10 years between 2004 and 2014. Modi government allocated Rs 8,33,000 crores to Madhya Pradesh in just 9 years," Amit Shah said.

Daring the Congress to bring out a report card on five decades of its rule in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP stalwart said, "If Congress has the guts, let them bring out a report card for the 50 years it ruled the state. We have introduced a culture of accountability in politics. We are accountable to the people wherever we are in power."

Earlier, Shah arrived at Bhopal airport and was received by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the state Home Minister Narottam Mishra. Shah will also send LED vans from Bhopal to each assembly constituency to convey the government's development and welfarist schemes. Later in the day, Shah will visit leave for Gwalior to attend the State Working Committee meeting to be held at the Atal Auditorium, Gwalior.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Prahlad Patel, who has already reached Gwalior, following the party meeting and called Amit Shah's guidance important for the party as it goes into the Assembly polls.

Notably, BJP’s CEC on Wednesday discussed poll preparations in Madhya Pradesh and the impact of various welfare schemes of the state and the central governments. Sources said Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked state party leaders to focus on “weak seats” and continue public interactions through various programmes.

They said all state leaders were told to work unitedly to get the best results.

The meeting pertaining to Madhya Pradesh lasted about one-and-a-half hours. Sources said that the meeting discussed ways to maximize the impact of government schemes. They said weak seats in Madhya Pradesh were discussed and BJP's internal survey for the state also came up for discussion.