Congress workers cutting across group affiliations reached Barman to felicitate Digvijay Singh on the conclusion of his grand programme. Almost every Congress leader of the state reached Barman to indicate their acceptance of Digvijay as an important leader of the state. They included former union ministers Kamal Nath and Suresh Pachori, PCC chief Arun Yadav, leader of opposition in MP Vidhan Sabha Ajay Singh and several other important Congress functionaries. Rameshwar Neekhra, vice-president of the state Congress committee, was with Digvijay Singh throughout the six month long pilgrimage. During the yatra Digvijay passed through 110 Vidhan Sabha constituencies and interacted with thousands of common people. The parikrama re-established Digvijay Singh as a crucial factor in the state politics. For over five years he did not take any interest in MP politics.

Addressing the crowd, Swaroopanand Saraswati said “One Chief Minister did the Narmada Parikrama in a helicopter. Under his regime Narmada has dried up. Anyone going for a dip in the Narmada today will end up breaking his bones”. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had undertaken a Narmada yatra from December 11, 2016 to May 15, 2017. Digvijay Singh had announced his Narmada padyatra after the conclusion of the BJP’s yatra.

Kamal Nath described Digvijay Singh’s spiritual walk as “Kathin Tapsya wali Narmad Patrikrama” (Narmada circumambulation of arduous austerity). He added “As I was coming to join Digvijay Singh’s Narmada circumambulation, my eyes kept searching for the 6 crore saplings planted by the state government during its Narmada Yartra. I salute Digvijay Singh, for he has not just set an example for the party but indeed, he is our icon and pride”.

Speaking to reporters Digvijay spoke on the ongoing caste war and protests over the Supreme Court’s recent order on the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. “It is an issue which the court and government have to resolve after a lot of reflection and understanding”. On projection of a leader by Congress before the assembly elections, Singh said “the high-command decides the face of the party and will do so.”

Asked if she would follow Digvijay into politics, Amrita Rai said “I will answer this question when the time is right.”

It may be noted that throughout the six month yatra Digvijay Singh did not speak a word about politics. But on the last day he did talk politics.

The other event which continues to haunt Chief Minister Shiv Raj Singh Chouhan is the mishandling of April 2 Bharat Bandh and his subsequent decision to honour five Sadhus with the status of minister of state. This decision evoked sharp reaction from the community of Hindu saints and sadhus, who have threatened to launch an agitation to convey their anger. Besides, some veteran leaders also criticised Chouhan for his highly inappropriate step, which had alienated BJP from the overwhelming section of Hindu spiritual leaders. It now appears that the RSS is also not happy about Chouhan’s decision to give ministerial status to the Sadhus. Sensing the adverse reaction of RSS leadership, including chief Mohan Bhagat, Chouhan rushed to Nagpur.

The RSS has cautioned the state government to take early steps to check the ‘politics of caste’ ahead of the assembly polls this year. The advisory comes after caste clashes in Gwalior-Chambal region and sporadic incidents of violence and damage to Ambedkar statues in parts of the state.

The meeting of BJP and RSS core committee convened at Sharda Vidhya Mandir discussed the sudden spate of crimes against women, growing resentment among farmers and caste and reservation based issues, which could inflict irreparable damage to the party’s poll prospects and vote bank. The core committee also discussed the performance of the party legislators and role of party leaders in redressing public grievances.

Though the party is going through a transitory phase where some leaders are skeptical about a change in the state leadership, sources said that efforts were underway to reach a consensus over the name of a new state head of party. It is learnt that minister Narottam Mishra has been unofficially proposed by the party central leadership. Sources said Chief Minister Chouhan has also suggested a couple of names.

“There was nothing unusual discussed in the coordination meeting with RSS. There was no discussion on changing party state head”, said Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar, brushing aside queries raised by reporters regarding the meeting. The meeting expressed concern over the party’s deteriorating image due to non-execution of welfare schemes and poor publicity of programmes. (IPA Service)