‘I was tied down with party discipline so could not publicly speak against the previous state government’: Mahajan added
In a candid conversation, former Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said many times she took the help of Congress leaders for the issues concerning the development of her constituency in order to mount pressure on the then Shivraj Chouhan government in the state.
“Tied down by discipline” Mahajan claims, she could not raise issues of public interest even in being in power in MP.
The Congress unrooted the BJP after 15 years in the Assembly polls late last year.
“I could not raise issues of public interest many times during the previous BJP government in MP. Then, in hush hush manner, I used to tell them (Congress leaders) to raise such issues, promising them I will ask (then) Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to do the needful,” Mahajan said at a function on Sunday night.
“We rise above party politics when we set forth for Indore’s development,” the eight-time former MP, who was denied a ticket in the April-May Lok Sabha polls as she had crossed 75 years of age, added.
“I was tied down with (party) discipline so could not publicly speak against the previous state government,” she said, adding that Congress leaders kept their word during such times.
Her admission drew praise from MP Health Minister Tulsiram Silawat.
Also Read: “Congress’ biggest problem is our leader walked away”: Salman Khurshid
“The former MP’s words should be taken in the right spirit. Tai (as Mahajan is popularly known) always thought of Indore region’s progress, and that leaders cutting across party lines should be a part of it,” Silawat said on Monday.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
