Bhopal: Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is facing the ire of the central leadership of the BJP due to antics of some of his ministers. That is probably why he is coming down heavily on his colleagues. Ministers are fast becoming a pain in the neck for the chief minister. It began with the name of Sanjay Pathak surfacing in Katni Hawala scam.
Moreover, Gyan Singh is refusing to resign from the ministry despite being elected to the Lok Sabha. Umashankar Gupta has described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a ‘sirphira’ (madcap). Om Prakash Dhurve’s name has been dragged into the controversy over Deendayal Mobile Hospital Scheme. And the latest in the series is Gaurishankar Bisen’s sozzled son-in-law creating ruckus on train.
The antics of the ministers are not only hurting the image of the party at the national level, they are also giving the Congress a convenient handle to beat the BJP with. The central leadership has asked Chouhan to rein in the ministers so that their conduct does not become an electoral issue in the assembly and Lok Sabha polls. The state BJP core committee and the RSS leaders have told Chouhan in no uncertain terms that the ministers, MLAs and bureaucracy may become a problem for the party in the times to come.
Complaints against ministers are also pouring in from the BJP and the RSS workers in different districts. They are bitter that the ministers are ignoring them. With Chouhan not taking action on these complaints, the workers are approaching the central leadership. The impression gaining ground is that Chouhan does not have control over his ministers and the grassroots level workers are facing problems due to it.
Sources said that a meeting of the RSS and BJP leaders would soon be convened to build better coordination between the two organisations and for redressing the grievances of the workers. The acts of omission and commission of the ministers may also figure in the meeting. Sources said that the BJP central leadership and the RSS may direct sacking of the ministers who have been caught in controversies before the assembly elections.
Chouhan, on his part, is consistently issuing stiff warnings to the ministers to improve their performance and improve their rapport with the party workers. The chief minister is also planning to review the performance of the ministers himself.
