In 'parting speech style', CM Chouhan thanks bureaucrats for co-operation, recalls 4th term oath

Bhopal, Sep 26 (IANS) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who on Tuesday chaired a cabinet meeting which approved various proposals, including a fifth pay commission for the state police, set off speculation with his remarks on the occasion, which sounded like a parting speech.

In his remarks, he recalled the day he took the oath of the fourth time.

Chouhan thanked bureaucrats, especially Chief Secretary Iqbal Singh Bains for their co-operation and efforts in implementing various public schemes.

"I remember that I took oath as Chief Minister on March 24, 2020 when the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic was at its peak. Perhaps that was the first time a single man cabinet meeting was held at that time, but we managed to control the situation with the help of officials."

During the meeting, he gave a brief introduction of public schemes introduced and the development works taken place under his leadership.

Emphasising on ‘Ladli Behna Yojana’ – a cash scheme for women, which he launched three months back, Chouhan said: "The idea of the scheme came into my mind on February 28 and the scheme was launched on March 5. On March 20 forms were released and we could release the first installment on June 10. It shows the efforts of the officials."

Beside these, he said that his government successfully organised a mega event – ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Divas’ (Tribal Pride Day – organised on November 15, 2021).

"The concept of CM Rise School itself is an historic step which paves the way for growth of Madhya Pradesh. We successfully brought out the state from the BIMARU tag."

Soon after, buzz started in the state political circles that his speech during the cabinet meeting was very much like a "parting speech".

This came amid speculations that the BJP's central leadership has taken full control over Madhya Pradesh election and the longest-serving CM has been sidelined.

The opposition Congress also took a swipe at the BJP, especially after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Monday visit to Bhopal, where in his speech, he neither mentioned Chouhan's name nor his schemes.

A few hours later, the BJP announced its decision to field three Union Ministers - Narendra Singh Tomar, Prahlad Patel, and Faggan Singh Kulaste - as candidates in the coming Assembly elections, as well as national General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya.

With this, the BJP kept the door open for various Chief Minister probables if it retains power. The BJP's move to field some of its biggest names in a state poll also seems to underline it is working towards strengthening seats in which it believes it is weak and susceptible to opposition attacks. So far the BJP has named 79 candidates but there are 151 seats still up for grabs.

The Congress led by Kamal Nath had won the 2018 elections, however, 22 of its MLAs, loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia, had shifted into the BJP and Kamal Nath's government was toppled in March 2020. Subsequently, Chouhan had then taken oath as CM fourth time on March 24.

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