Chouhan reminds Congress of loan waiver within 10 days

Asserting that BJP will present a strong and constructive opposition in the state with 109 seats in its tally, Madhya Pradesh's former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday reminded the Congress of its promise to waive off loan to farmers within 10 days of coming to power.

Addressing a press briefing here, hours after tendering his resignation to the Governor, Chouhan said: "Opposition is also strong and we have 109 legislators. We will fulfil the responsibility of a powerful, constructive opposition. Now it is our time to be on guard and we are not the ones to stay quiet."

"Congress has made promises such as farmer loan waiver in 10 days. Rahul Gandhi had said that if it doesn't happen in 10 days they will change the chief minister. I have complete faith that they will fulfil this commitment made to the public," he added.

Expressing gratitude towards citizens of the state for imposing faith on his governance for 13 years, he added: "I am grateful to citizens of the state and have received immense love from people throughout the tenure. I worked to the best of my capability and worked for the development of the state. When we took the reins of government, the state was in a depleted state. Issues such as road, water and electricity were major problems. We did work hard to make Madhya Pradesh a better state. We made policies to resolve the problems that I had seen in the public since childhood. We worked with the vision that benefits of development must reach the poor and downtrodden".

Chouhan was also quick to outline the seat share and voting percentage while providing a comparative figure of 2008 assembly elections and that of 2018. "In 2008 we got 38 per cent votes and won 143 seats, this time we have got 40 per cent votes and have won 109 seats. Sometimes arithmetic of people's mandate is very different. It is true that we did not get a majority and did not get expected success. If someone is responsible for this it is me because despite such support and great policies of the government we did not get an expected victory," he said.

Urging the next government to continue the public welfare policies started by his government, Chouhan said: "I want to request to the new government that there should be continuity in the public welfare work. Change in government should not lead to change in the policies of public welfare. I hope public friendly initiatives will be continued by the new government."

He also said that the Leader of the Opposition will be decided by the party and strategy will be chalked out for 2019 General Assembly elections.

Present at the presser, MP state president Rakesh Singh acknowledged that BJP didn't get the expected majority. "We got more votes than Congress but it is the number which matters in a democracy. With complete humility, we accept this mandate of the public. Just because we have lost some seats, we will not stop working for the welfare of the public and the people."

Earlier in the day, Congress formally staked claim to form a government in Madhya Pradesh. A Congress delegation of MP CongressCommittee (MPCC) chief Kamal Nath, Digvijaya Singh, Jyotiraditya Scindia and other party leaders, submitted a letter of support from 121 MLAs to Governor Anandiben Patel.