The appointment of Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia as chairman of the State poll campaign committee does not make him a claimant to the Chief Minister’s post, leader of Opposition in State Assembly, Ajay Singh said.
“Congress has no tradition (of announcing) like chief ministerial candidate. If (a) few persons have become chairmen of some committees, there is nothing new in it. One should remember that I was also the chairman of the campaign committee in 2008, but was not a claimant to the Chief Minister’s post,” Ajay told media persons here on Sunday.
“It’s a matter of routine that Scindiaji has got the job of campaign committee chief. Arun Yadav, Prem Chand Guddu, Suresh Pachouri and I too have held the post. These posts are meant for election management and making entire arrangements,” he said.
“Becoming chairman of a committee doesn’t mean that you become a claimant to the Chief Minister’s post. In Congress, it depends on the MlAs and the party high command. Congress has no such tradition and does not have it even today,” the leader clarified. The MP Assembly elections are slated later this year. On the party not announcing its candidates despite Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi stating earlier that they would be declared till July 31, Ajay said the process for finalising candidates had started late. “I think, a majority of the tickets will be announced before Dussehra festival,” he added.
However, no quota-permit system would prevail and only those capable of winning the polls would be given tickets, he stressed. Referring to charges of corruption levelled by him against Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his ministerial colleagues, Ajay said he had met lokayukta on various occasions to press for speeding up the probe, but he expressed his helplessness as the government was not providing relevant documents for the purpose.
“After meeting the lokayukta, it appears to me that it has become a toothless organisation and it has also posed a big question mark over the government’s intention to curb corruption,” the Congress leader remarked.