‘What Post Star Campaigner Has?’: Kamal Nath After EC Strips His Status Over Poll Code Breach | Earth Indian

New Delhi: Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath who was removed from the list of star campaigners on Friday hit out at the Election Commission and questioned its decision on removing his status for “repeated violations of the model code while campaigning for the bypolls”.

“Which post or position this star campaigner has? The EC had not given me any notice, nor had it asked me about it. Why they are doing this in the last two days of campaigning only they know,” Nath said.

The Madhya Pradesh by-elections will be held from November 3 to 28 to fill 28 vacant Assembly seats.

“I have full faith in people and voters of the state, especially from these 28 seats. They are aware that the (BJP) government, which came to power by trading people’s mandate, has not been able to change anything in the last seven months… Voters in MP are simple, naive and poor, but they are very intelligent,” the former CM asserted.

Kamal Nath’s 15-month-old Congress government collapsed in March this year following senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia’s rebellion and resignation and led to the BJP’s return to the helm. Just ahead of the bypolls, he has been facing criticism for using the term “item” against a woman MP minister during the bypoll campaign.

“I was in Lok Sabha for so many years. There it is mentioned in the agenda sheet, item number 1, item number 2…That was on my mind. I did not say it to disrespect anyone. Yet, I had said that if someone feels insulted, then I express regret,” he expressed regret.

Nath also slammed Scindia for alleging that “Bada Bhai-Chhota Bhai” (Nath and Digvijaya Singh) has set up a transfer industry in the state, and claimed that the maximum number of transfers were done on his (Scindia’s) recommendation and he has a list of it.

“We used to talk quite often then. I had a good relationship with him. But now there is no point in going back on those old things.”

For the first time in the history of Madhya Pradesh, 28 by-polls are being held simultaneously after 25 Congress MLAs jumped ship to the BJP.

By Shivam Urkude || Earth Indian