Bring crowd to Rahul rally or pay Rs 5000: MP Congress minister

Bhopal: A video in which a senior minister in Kamal Nath ministry was heard warning the local Congress leaders of imposing a penalty of Rs 5000 each if they failed to mobilise crowd for a public meeting of Rahul Gandhi, scheduled to be organised here on February 8, has gone viral causing huge embarrassment to the ruling party.

The video clip has caught state minister for relief and rehabilitation of Bhopal gas tragedy victims, Arif Akil, cautioning Congress leaders of Sehore district that accountability would be fixed on them if they failed to gather crowd in February eight farmers’ rally in Bhopal, scheduled to be addressed by Mr Gandhi.

He was addressing the meeting of Sehore District Congress Committee (DCC) at district headquarters of Sehore on Sunday.

Mr Akil was even heard saying that he would take steps to video-graph the vehicles bringing the crowds from different areas in the district at Bhopal and impose a penalty of Rs 5,000 each if vehicles requisitioned by the Congress leaders to carry people from their respective areas, were found empty.

The video went viral on Monday landing the ruling Congress in embarrassment.

While Congress chose not to react to the controversy, Opposition BJP slammed the ruling party leadership here for forcing its leaders to mobilise crowd for Mr Gandhi’s meeting to take credit before the Congress president.

Sources said all the ministers in the Kamal Nath ministry have been given charges of various districts in the state to mobilise people for the February eight event.

A target has been set to mobiliset two lakh people from across the state to attend the farmers’ rally of February eight scheduled to be addressed by Mr Gandhi.

Mr Gandhi was scheduled to thank the farmers for bringing Congress to power in MP in the November assembly elections.