Creating an embarrassment for the Congress, senior leader and former Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Thursday rejected claims of LPG shortage in Madhya Pradesh. By doing so he took a stand contrary to his own party’s aggressive campaign against the central and state governments.
While on one hand Congress is continuously targeting the Central and Madhya Pradesh governments over the alleged delay in LPG supply and the difficulties being faced by the public, on the other hand Kamal Nath rejected this outright.
Speaking to reporters in Chhindwara, Kamal Nath said, “There is no such shortage. Just such an environment is being created that there is a shortage.”
He asserted that there is ‘no shortage of cooking gas’ in the state and accused some people of deliberately creating panic for political gains.
His statement is largely similar to the stand of the Central Government, which says that there is no real crisis, but only rumors are being fanned.
Kamal Nath, who is also the head of the Congress Legislature Party in Madhya Pradesh, indirectly targeted the ruling BJP and said that such things are being spread so that the public’s attention can be diverted from issues related to governance and administration.
His comment has come at a time when complaints of delay in LPG delivery and long queues at distribution centers are being received from many districts. However, the former chief minister said the situation was largely normal and appealed to people not to be misled by rumours.
Political experts believe that this statement of Kamal Nath is a blow to the strategy of Congress, under which it wanted to strengthen its hold by making the alleged LPG crisis an election issue, especially in election states like West Bengal, Assam and Kerala.
The reactions of the local people of Chhindwara and surrounding areas have been mixed. While some families complained of slight delays in cylinder refills in recent weeks, many others said supplies were generally available through regular channels.
This development is likely to further intensify the political debate over the availability of essential commodities in Madhya Pradesh, and may also put the Congress in an awkward position as it has been criticizing the government on the same issue in other parts of the country.
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