Kamal Nath took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for terming doles as ‘revadis’ (freebies) and said that ‘when the BJP does it, they do not call it the same’. (File photo/PTI)
In an interview at his residence in Bhopal, the senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said women realise that Shivraj Chouhan will only give them money for the next 4 months and after that it will all go up in the air as he will lose the polls
Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is “desperate” as he launched the CM Ladli Behna Yojana to give cash doles to women just before the elections but women know that he is going out of power, senior Congress leader Kamal Nath told News18. In an interview at his Bhopal residence on Thursday, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said that he had made five promises to voters, including a Rs 1,500 per month grant to women, as he believed that “women need to be supported more”.
He took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for terming such doles as ‘revadis’ (freebies) and said that “when the BJP does it, they do not call it the same”. He also scoffed at the talk of PM Modi being invincible even if there was an opposition alliance formed like INDIA. “They used to say this about Indira Gandhi and she lost her own election. That is the reality,” Kamal Nath said.
There seems to be a war for women’s votes in Madhya Pradesh with Nath promising Rs 1,500 per month for women as well as an LPG cylinder at Rs 500 and free electricity up to 100 units if he comes to power. CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has also started a Ladli Behna Yojana to start transferring Rs 1,000 per month to 1.25 crore women in the state and has promised to increase this amount gradually to Rs 3,000 per month. What does Kamal Nath think of this counter from the chief minister? Edited excerpts:
Why have you made the 5 promises, specifically the one for women?
I am offering 5 promises which are important for the people of Madhya Pradesh. For women, gas and electricity are very important and these should have happened from the government in the last 18 years but they haven’t done it. So we have promised them.
The PM says promises like the ones made by you are symbols of ‘revadi’ (freebies) culture…
They (PM) call it revadi culture, but when they do it, it is not revadi culture! That is the issue! I think women need to be supported more. And with gas prices and inflation, the cost of living has gone up. And the cost of living is borne most by women. So we have to ensure that women are benefitted from this.
The CM has launched the Ladli Behna Yojana with Rs 1,000 per month and is announcing that it will be raised to Rs 3,000…
Well, the CM is desperate and people in Madhya Pradesh have understood that his time of departure has come and they are waiting to bid him goodbye.
Won’t women doubt your promise since they are already getting money from the Shivraj government?
I don’t think this is a factor. The women are also realising that Shivraj ji will only give the money for the next 4 months and after that, it will all go up in the air.
How will you avenge what you termed the deceit of 2020 when your government was overthrown after a term of 15 months?
The answer will be with the people of Madhya Pradesh—I have faith in them and the electorate. The question is not the candidate or the party, the question is the future of Madhya Pradesh.
You were part of the INDIA alliance meeting in Bengaluru…
The opposition is in the process of getting its act together and it is an ongoing process, which shall continue.
But some say PM Modi is invincible despite opposition parties coming together as his popularity is very high.
They used to say this about Indira Gandhi and she lost her own election. That is the reality.
