PM Indira Gandhi's 20-Point Programme fails to boost Congress(I) image in Madhya Pradesh

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's 20-Point Programme, which was aimed at boosting the party's image during the Emergency, is doing just the opposite for her Congress(I) in Madhya Pradesh.The ruling group and the dissidents within the party have seized upon it to get at each other. Chief Minister Arjun Singh's group has been accusing the dissidents - led by Vidya Charan Shukla, Union Minister for Civil Supplies-of hindering its execution. Shukla's followers, on the other hand, are quite insistent that the programme is not being implemented satisfactorily.They are also peeved at their deliberate exclusion from the 450-odd 20-Point Programme Implementation Committees (PICS) which have been constituted by the state Government in various development blocks.Complains Munder Sharma, 64, the soft-spoken Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee(I) (MPCC-I) president: "Some Congress(I) leaders of the state are doing the same kind of harm to Arjun Singh as opposition leaders are doing to Mrs Gandhi. I am sure they are doing so at the instigation of Central leaders from the state."Concurs Industry Minister Jhumuk Lai Bhedia: "Since the chief minister has started doing something for the poor of Chattisgarh, the Shukla brothers (Vidya Charan and his brother Shyama Charan) are annoyed with him, That V.C. Shukla has joined hands with anti-social elements to defame his own party's government is unfortunate."Shukla(left) and Singh: Growing dissidence over the 20-point programmeFrontal Attack: Shukla's supporters predictably shrug off these allegations. Claims a pro-Shukla MLA: "Arjun Singh has started a vilification campaign against Vidya bhaiya to divert public attention from the non-implementation of the programme. The chief minister's group has not taken kindly to our Zila Vikas Sammelans which highlight the failures of implementation."Shukla, encouraged by the recent court decree - the Supreme Court last fortnight upheld his election from Mahasamund after the Madhya Pradesh High Court set it aside - has now launched a frontal assault on Singh.Said Shukla at his New Delhi press conference: "These upstarts and pseudo-progressives who have attained power in Madhya Pradesh by manipulation and intrigues are raising a false bogey to hide their true faces." The dissidents have now submitted a detailed memorandum to Mrs Gandhi listing the lapses of the state Government with regard to the 20-Point Programme. According to Shukla's men, people with dubious records have been included in the district level PICs and 'genuine' Congressmen have been kept out deliberately.Answers Singh: "I have received complaints against some people and I have ordered the scrutiny of all members of the various committees. Munder Sharma is also looking into the matter. Everything is being done in consultation with the party organisation."Setback: The programme is merely an excuse for both groups to hit each other with. Shukla's public offensive against Singh follows the sacking and demotion of pro-Shukla men in the state ministry and the launching of vigilance inquiries against some of them.Moreover Shukla's followers have been kept out of several important party forums. Last fortnight in an offensive against the dissidents. Singh sacked Health Minister Srinivas Tiwari and divested Deputy Chief Minister Shivabhanu Solanki of the two important portfolios of medium and minor irrigation. He has also sought Mrs Gandhi's approval to drop from his Cabinet ministers he considers troublesome.Singh has been stuck with some men of Shukla's group in his ministry since June when they were included during the Cabinet formation as the outcome of a package deal. Although Shukla's group, which was backing Solanki for chief ministership, was humiliated, it revived its dissident activities soon after Sanjay's death.But his men were demoralised by the appointment of Munder Sharma. a protege of Singh, as the MPCC(I) chief. This sealed the fate of Shyama Charan Shukla-also an aspirant for the chief ministership -whose formal admission to the Congress(I) is yet to be announced.Political Base: Another matter which has upset the Shuklas is that the chief minister has started making inroads in the Chattisgarh region -so far considered to be the exclusive preserve of the Shukla family.Singh has not only made over two dozen visits to Chattisgarh - which returns over 90 MLAs to the Assembly but has also started supporting those pro-Congress (I) Brahmins who are opposed to the Shuklas.On January 6. for example, he attended the birth anniversary celebrations of Pandit Sunder Lal Sharma, a well-known freedom fighter of Raipur, and announced a pension of Rs 500 per month for all of Sharma's dependents. Ravi Shankar Shukla, Vidya Charan's father and former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, was opposed to Sharma who was sidelined from state politics. "Though Sharma was jailed over a dozen times with Gandhiji he is not listed among freedom fighters because he was opposed to the Shukla family," complained a Congress(I) leader of Raipur.Besides, the state Government is contemplating bifurcation of Raipur district. the largest in the country, into at least two to break the Shuklas grip over the district. All ministers opposed to Shukla have been directed to organise special mass meetings in the district and take up special development plans and the 20-Point Programme. Singh has also strengthened his hand by getting the support of Prakash Chand Sethi, Union Petroleum Minister, who wields considerable influence in the state. So far. the factions have limited their activities to secret meetings and press statements. And both are wooing the party high command. Last fortnight Singh and Shukla met Mrs Gandhi to state their point of view.Meeting Cancelled: Apparently assured of the prime minister's support. Singh scored another political victory and improved his image by convening a meeting of seven important Congress (I) chief ministers.He successfully pushed through his idea of organising a million-strong government-sponsored kisan rally in the capital on February 12. This has been planned to convince Mrs Gandhi that the peasantry is backing her. While Singh is touring the villages in the state Government's four-seater plane to collect farmers for the rally and to publicise the vigorous implementation of the 20-Point Programme, Laxmi Narain Induriya, MPCC(I) general secretary and a staunch follower of Shukla, is moving from district to district to prepare a dossier on the administration's failures. On the intervention of the high command, Induriya has now shelved the idea of convening a meeting of all the current and ex-Congress (I) MPs, MLAs and MPCC(I) office bearers.The intention was to pass a resolution expressing concern over the tardy implementation of the 20-Point Programme. Induriya has, however, gathered signatures of leading Congress(I) leaders on the petition which he intends to submit to Mrs Gandhi on behalf of the dissidents. And to boost the sagging morale of his supporters, Shukla has been airdashing to Madhya Pradesh almost every week during the last two months. Says an MLA of the ruling group: "The Shuklas have not been able to reconcile to the situation in which they are not the rulers of the state. They are a frustrated lot."And while the leaders are involved in their petty plots, the same fate which it met soon after the Emergency, seems to await the 20-Point Programme.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Nov 28, 2013--- ENDS ---

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PM Indira Gandhi's 20-Point Programme fails to boost Congress(I) image in Madhya Pradesh

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's 20-Point Programme, which was aimed at boosting the party's image during the Emergency, is doing just the opposite for her Congress(I) in Madhya Pradesh.

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