Congress slams Madhya Pradesh CM’s appeal to his ‘sisters’

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s personal appeal to his “sisters” across the state to return him to power in the Assembly elections, due in the state in November-December this year, has landed him in the Congress’ crosshairs.

To counter his move, the Congress announced it would send him ten lakh letters by the party’s women workers to remind him of the state government’s failure to stop incidents of rape in the state. The chief minister had posted five lakh letters to his “sisters” across the state ahead of Raksha Bandhan, which falls on Sunday, informing them about various welfare schemes run for them by his government and promising them to create a secure atmosphere for them in the coming five years.

The emotion-filled missive called upon the state’s women to feel that their “brother” had arrived at their doorstep.

The letters made an appeal to the women in the state to return him to power in the year-end elections to ensure security and prosperity for them in the next five years.

Mr Chouhan also urged the women to send acknowledgements to the letters through SMS, WhatsApp message or a missed call.

The Madhya Pradesh Pradesh Congress Committee president, Kamal Nath, however, on Friday took a jibe at the chief minister for seeking the support of women to get another mandate on the auspicious occasion of Raksha Bandhan when his government had ‘failed to check crimes against women in the state’.

“On what basis was the chief minister seeking support from women for another mandate when his government has miserably failed to provide them security,” the Congress leader tweeted.

The chief minister retorted, saying, “What is the problem with Congress if I write letters to my sisters.”