Gaur gets bold, tells Uma loyalist to quit

In what is being seen as his first strong move against Uma Bharati loyalists in the state, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Babulal Gaur sacked...

In what is being seen as his first strong move against Uma Bharati loyalists in the state, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Babulal Gaur sacked senior minister Sunil Nayak on Monday, a few days after the return of the sanyasin to the party fold. A few hours later, the sacked minister said he would press for the reinstatement of Bharati as CM.

In a dramatic move earlier in the day, Gaur summoned Nayak to his residence and asked him to tender his resignation. ‘‘He already had an unsigned letter made and wanted me to sign it. I told him that I would inform him about the decision later. I called him up later and dared him to sack me since I would not resign,’’ Nayak told Express. The chief minister sacked him in the afternoon. He admitted that he had asked Nayak to resign but refused to give reasons.

Nayak, on the other hand, said the move was aimed at ‘‘provoking’’ Bharati. ‘‘Unke virodhiyon ko pata hai ki behenjee (Uma) ko gussa jaldi aata hai. Isliye unke virudh sazish rachi ja rahi hai unko phir se gussa dilane ke liye (Bharati’s adversaries know she is very short-tempered so they are conspiring to provoke her),’’ said Nayak.

Story continues below this ad

The former minister of state for Animal Husbandry said he would call upon the central leadership in Delhi and press for Gaur’s ouster. ‘‘He doesn’t enjoy support of even a single legislator. He has no right to continue as CM,’’ said a defiant Nayak. He, however, ruled out quitting the party.

Nayak had called for Bharati’s reinstatement the day BJP chief L.K. Advani revoked her suspension. State BJP chief Kailash Joshi had said at a press conference a few days ago that the minister was being ‘‘monitored’’ for his frequent outbursts. But on Monday, he refused to comment on the ouster. ‘‘It is the CM’s decision’’, was all he had to say.

Sources said the state leadership had sought the consent of the central leadership including state in-charge Arun Jaitley before issuing the order. They also said Gaur had consulted both Joshi and organisational secretary Kaptan Singh Solanki. Though Gaur had welcomed Bharati’s return, sources said the trio of Gaur, Joshi and Solanki wanted to send a strong signal to Bharati’s backers that they are in control. ‘‘There are fears that she (Uma) could pull the strings from Delhi. So before that could happen, the trio wanted to send a signal to the rival camp,’’ a senior leader said. Sources said the leadership had now turned the scanner on Cabinet minister Dal Singh Bisen, another Bharati loyalist.

‘Crossed all limits’: BJP hits back at Congress for AI-generated video of PM Modi’s mother

India55 min ago

The Bhartiya Janata Party on Friday criticised an AI-generated video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother shared by Bihar Congress, calling the video "disgusting." The video was shared two days ago and shows "PM Modi dreaming about his late mother who is criticising him over his politics in poll-bound Bihar."

View all shorts

Live Blog