Bhopal:

At a time when the Congress is preparing for its ‘Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, and Jai Samvidhan’ rally in Madhya Pradesh’s Mhow on January 27, state Congress president Jitu Patwari’s remarks about the “cancer of groupism” within the party have sparked a political storm.

The rally, organized to honour Dr BR Ambedkar at his birthplace, has been overshadowed by Mr Patwari’s candid acknowledgement of internal issues, providing the ruling BJP with new ammunition to attack the opposition.

Speaking at a gathering of Congress workers in Dhar district’s Dharampuri on Sunday, Mr Patwari openly addressed the internal challenges plaguing the party.

“Congress is afflicted with the cancer of groupism. We’ll have to end this cancer, or else we’ll be finished. If we don’t eliminate the cancer of groupism, then we all will be finished,” he said.

In a pointed comment on sycophancy, he said, “Sycophants are present in every political party. We need to stay away from them.”

As the remarks snowballed into a controversy, he later said that “unity is a way to make the party strong” and that it was “natural that such things are discussed within the organization”.

“Whatever may have to be done to end factionalism in our party, I will do it and we will end it with courage and unity,” he said.

BJP On Jitu Patwari’s ‘Groupism’ Remark

Jitu Patwari’s remarks, made just 70 kilometres from where the January 27 rally will take place, quickly went viral on social media, drawing sharp criticism from political opponents.

BJP spokesperson Narendra Saluja, a former Congress leader, also shared a video clip of Mr Patwari’s statement on X.

“When we said there is factionalism in Congress, Patwari denied it. When Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh criticized Patwari in the political affairs committee meeting, he made Kamal Nath issue a false tweet to deny it. Now, in the home district of the Leader of Opposition (in the Madhya Pradesh assembly) Umang Singhar, Patwari himself admits to the cancer of groupism in Congress,” he said.

हम कहते थे कि कांग्रेस में गुटबाजी , अंतर्कलह जमकर है तो जीतू पटवारी मना करते थे…

हमने कांग्रेस की पोलिटिकल अफेयर्स कमेटी की बैठक में कमलनाथ जी और दिग्विजय सिंह द्वारा जीतू पटवारी को आड़े हाथों लेने का मामला उठाया तो पटवारी मना करते रहे और कमलनाथ जी ने 24 घंटे बाद झूठा ट्वीट… pic.twitter.com/nT8GJ6x72N

— Narendra Saluja (@NarendraSaluja) January 20, 2025

Mr Saluja also demanded to know who Mr Patwari holds responsible for the “cancer”.

“Is it Kamal Nath, Digvijaya Singh, Umang Singhar, Arun Yadav, or someone else?” he asked.

He further mocked the Congress, describing its internal issues as not just “cancer” but a “heart attack and kidney failure of factionalism.”

The remarks were made in Dharampuri, Dhar district, the home turf of Mr Singhar, a four-term Congress MLA.

Despite the controversy, Mr Patwari has outlined a comprehensive strategy to revitalize the Congress in Madhya Pradesh: Grassroots Strengthening — Assigning leadership roles to energetic individuals at panchayat and ward levels; Youth Leadership — Empowering leaders under 50 to infuse fresh energy into the party; Social Harmony — Ensuring inclusive representation across caste and community lines; Training Programs — Equipping workers with ideological and organizational skills; and Eradicating Factionalism — Prioritizing merit and collaboration over internal rivalries.

Congress’  ‘Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan’ Rally

The ‘Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan’ rally in Mhow is a key part of the Congress’ public outreach strategy. It comes a month after a row erupted over Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on BR Ambedkar.

The event, to be attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, seeks to consolidate the party’s support base among marginalized communities.

Both Mr Patwari and Mr Singhar are touring the Malwa-Nimar region to mobilize party workers for the rally.

‘जय बापू, जय भीम, जय संविधान’ यात्रा बुरहानपुर पहुंच चुकी है।

जब तक कांग्रेस है, हम बाबा साहब के संविधान पर आंच नहीं आने देंगे! pic.twitter.com/FR2kJXu2FC

— Jitendra (Jitu) Patwari (@jitupatwari) January 20, 2025

However, the controversy over Mr Patwari’s statement threatens to undermine these efforts.

Ratlam:

Former Union minister and the Congress’ Lok Sabha candidate from Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh Kantilal Bhuria on Thursday courted controversy by claiming men with two wives stand to gain Rs 2 lakh under his party’s Mahalaxmi scheme to give Rs 1 lakh annually to poor women.

The statement drew a sharp response from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which sought action from the Election Commission of India against Bhuria (73), a Union minister for tribal affairs in the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

“Our manifesto promises Rs 1 lakh to every woman. It will be deposited in her bank account. (For) The person who has two wives, both of them will come under it,” Bhuria said while addressing a poll rally in Sailana.

Speaking on the occasion, Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari said, “Bhuria ji has made a terrific announcement just now that a person with two wives will get double (of the Rs 1 lakh financial aid).” As per the Congress’ manifesto, under the Mahalaxmi scheme, women will get Rs 8,500 per month till they move out of the below poverty line (BPL) segment.

Meanwhile, MP BJP spokesperson Narendra Saluja uploaded the clip of Bhuria’s statement on social media platform X and tagged the Election Commission seeking action.

In his address, Bhuria accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of disrespecting tribals and of keeping quiet when a tribal was urinated upon by a BJP leader in Sidhi.

Bhuria is pitted against Anita Chauhan, the wife of MP forest minister Nagar Singh Chauhan.

Lok Sabha polls will be held in Ratlam on May 13.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bhopal:

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party was at the centre of an exchange between the BJP and Congress in Madhya Pradesh today, as both the parties accused each other of “stealing” the theme song of Imran Khan’s party for their respective campaigns for upcoming assembly elections.

The ruling BJP claimed the Congress has “stolen” the theme song of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf for its upcoming Jan Aakrosh Yatra campaign in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh.

The Congress hit back, claiming the song of the Pakistani party was copied by Dushyant Chautala, the Deputy Chief Minister in Haryana’s BJP government, and similarly in Rajasthan (for the poll campaign).

The row erupted after MP BJP unit secretary Rahul Kothari alleged the Congress has copied “Chalo, Chalo Imran Ke Sath”, which he said is the theme song of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, in its recently-released song “Chalo, Chalo Congress Ke Sang Chalo Chalo” for the Jan Aakrosh Yatra.

The Yatra is scheduled to set out from September 19 from seven places in Madhya Pradesh, where assembly elections are due in November this year.

The state BJP shared the video of the purported theme song of the Pakistan-based party along with the Congress’ poll campaign song on its official X account.

Till now, the Congress used to accept those who raised slogans in favour of Pakistan and against Hindustan, Mr Kothari alleged. Now, Madhya Pradesh Congress is also borrowing songs from Pakistan, he alleged.

He claimed Congress’ Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh was missing from the poster of Jan Ashirwad Yatra, “but he is giving the background music”.

“This is the height of appeasement. It won’t be a big deal if Congress flag soon turns completely green,” Mr Kothari said.

“Congress’ love for Pakistan came to the fore again. @INCMP stole the theme song of Imran Khan’s party of Pakistan for its campaign song in the Madhya Pradesh elections. Congress’s habit of ‘stealing’ is old but why so much love for Pakistan? Congress should answer,” the BJP posted on X.

State Congress media department chairman KK Mishra said, “Unfortunately, those who are friends of Pakistan are raising objections over the campaign song of Congress. Those who got Army personnel martyred to take electoral advantage objected to a song”.

Mr Mishra said the BJP might have forgotten who went to Pakistan without invitation and who had invited the neighbouring country’s prime minister for his oath ceremony.

MP Home Minister and senior BJP leader Narottam Mishra said the Congress has stolen the campaign song of its Jan Akrosh Yatra from Pakistan.

“The (erstwhile) Congress government had lost its credibility in the state because of the ‘Chalo Chalo’ jibe of Kamal Nath (MP Congress chief and ex-chief minister). The public is also going to tell ‘Chalo-Chalo’ to Congress in the assembly elections,” he alleged.

On the other hand, Mr Nath’s media advisor Piyush Babele accused the BJP of stealing the Pakistani party’s theme song during electioneering in Rajasthan and Haryana.

“The BJP’s only mantra is stealing without shame. The song of Pakistan’s Imran Khan has been copied by Dushyant Chautala, Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana’s BJP government. Film expert @drnarottammisra ji, listen to both the songs and tell from where do you get so much love for Pakistan,” Mr Babele posted on X account.

The Congress launched the “Chalo, Chalo…” song on September 17. The Yatra is expected to cover 11,400 kilometres across all 230 assembly segments in Madhya Pradesh in 15 days to highlight various issues like “corruption, unemployment, and crime against Dalits and women”, among others.

The BJP has already rolled out the Jan Ashirward Yatra’ to “seek the blessings of the people”. The Yatras, being taken out from various places, will culminate in Bhopal on September 25.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)