Published 11:10 IST, March 12th 2020
Scindia's poster torn & smeared with ink in Bhopal prior to his arrival as BJP leader
As an apparent revolt, ink was thrown on the poster of Jyotiraditya Scindia which was put up near Polytechnic Chouraha in Bhopal, and a part of it was also torn
Hours before Jyotiraditya Scindia landed in Bhopal, his posters outside the BJP office was smeared with ink. A day after Scindia ended his 18-year-old association with the Congress party to join the BJP, the saffron party staged a grand welcome for his return from Delhi on Thursday.
In an apparent revolt to this move, ink was thrown on the poster of Scindia which was put up near the Polytechnic Chouraha in Bhopal, and a part of it was also torn. In the poster, the newly inducted BJP leader was seen alongside PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national chief JP Nadda amongst the other senior leaders of the saffron party.
Soon after his induction in the BJP on March 11, Scindia was nominated as the Rajya Sabha candidate for the party from Madhya Pradesh. During his induction, Scindia lambasted his former party saying, "Congress party is not the same as it was before. Three reasons - they are not realising the fact, they are not ready to accept the new leadership and they are ignoring the young leaders." In addition, Scindia leveled corruption charges on the Kamal Nath-led Madhya Pradesh government. The former Guna MP announced his formal resignation from the party on March 10, however, Congress later cited it as an 'expulsion' from the party.
Congress takes on Scindia
Several Congress leaders slammed Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday for quitting the party, accusing him of betraying the trust of the people and placing "personal ambition" over ideology. Hitting out at Scindia, many Congress leaders referred to the 1857 revolt against the East India Company and the role of the Scindia royals back then as well as Vijaya Raje Scindia's switch from the Congress in 1967. Congress' prominent youth leader Jyotiraditya Scindia quit the party on Tuesday and appeared set to join the BJP amid a rebellion in Madhya Pradesh by his supporters, pushing the 15-month-old Kamal Nath government to the brink of collapse.
Early last week, Senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh repeatedly leveled horse-trading charges against the BJP. Digvijaya said that Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Rambai was brought to the national capital by a charter flight on Monday by a BJP leader. On March 2, Digvijaya Singh had alleged that Shivraj Chouhan and Narottam Mishra were offering bribes of Rs 25-35 crores to Congress MLAs in order to sack the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh. "Ever since Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has become the opposition party in Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Narottam Mishra and all those who looted the state for 15 years, they are not ready to sit in the Opposition and are openly offering bribes of Rs 25-35 crores to Congress MLAs," Singh alleged.
Updated 11:10 IST, March 12th 2020