The Madhya Pradesh Congress on Thursday appealed to the Election Commission of India to remove 14 non-legislators from the State Council of Ministers after Minister Imarti Devi purportedly claimed the BJP could win the byelections by calling up District Collectors.
In a video that went viral on the social media, Women and Child Development Minister Imarti Devi can be seen reportedly telling a gathering: “We [BJP] have to win just eight seats and they [Congress] will have to win all the 27 seats. So you tell me, will the incumbent government keep its eyes closed and allow them to win all seats? The party in power has such a mandate that it can call up the [district] Collector to say it wants a seat, it gets it.”
Congress leader J.P. Dhanopia, writing to the State Chief Election Officer, contended this meant the BJP might misuse the government machinery. “It is important to remove the turncoats as Ministers so that the byelections could be held in a free and fair manner,” he said.
Ms. Devi, who was among the 22 rebel Congress MLAs to have switched sides in March, has denied making the remarks. BJP spokesman Rajneesh Agrawal said the party believed only in democratic processes. “If such unfair means were being employed, no incumbent government would ever lose elections,” he said.
