Senior Congress leader Kumari Selja said Monday that the BJP would pose no challenge in the 2023 Assembly polls in Chhattisgarh and that her party would approach the President if the governor refused to sign two quota Bills even after the January 3 “maha-rally”, billed to be a show of public support for the legislation.
“The Bharat Jodo Yatra is in its last leg. Rahul-ji got the support of crores of people who joined the movement. He is fighting against an ideology which is polluting our country. He is spreading the message of love and unity in diversity,” the former Union minister said at a press conference on her first visit as the Congress in-charge for the party-ruled state.
“Our next step of Bharat Jodo (unite India) is haath se haath jodo (Join hands), for which a roadmap is made. Our local Congress leaders will reach out to each and every booth and house. It will commence on January 26 and go on for a few months,” she added.
Speaking on the tug of war on the reservation Bills between Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Governor Anusuiya Uikey, Selja said, “It is unfortunate that the governor has not signed the Bills but has complicated them. On January 3, we will take out a big rally in Raipur and show people’s strength in support of the Bills.”
Asked what if the governor refused to sign the Bills despite the rally, Selja said, “We may then meet the President. There are more ways but we want this to happen through the constitutional way because this is the right of the people and it must be respected.”
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To a question on how she would keep the Congress ministers and MLAs united as there was infighting in the party, she said, “It is not true. There are not many complaints. The Congress is a transparent party where people say what they want to. We do not take away their rights to speak up. We will try to keep everyone happy.”
The Congress leader also said the party did not see any challenge from the Opposition BJP in 2023.
“The way they ruled here and the way they lost the people’s confidence, they will not win again. There was a lot of corruption and people were misled. The people then showed faith in the Congress. Even in Himachal, people have trusted us. We will want to win all the 90 seats. It is not about having a target of winning 75 seats,” she said.
Asked about multiple survey reports that showed several Congress MLAs as underperformers and whether they would lose their tickets, Selja said, “Everything will be kept in mind and appropriate decisions will be taken on it.”
Responding to a query on whether she could see any divisive politics in the state, the Congress leader said, “BJP-RSS politics is based on divisive communal politics. We have seen it time and again, state after state. They always like to play that card. They keep talking about vikas (development) but they never talk about main issues like unemployment and price rises. They only target Rahul-ji and have nothing to say about our country, which is reeling under the rising prices. I think people of Chhattisgarh have seen through this kind of (communal) politics and they are much wiser and they will vote for a party that is actually working for them.”
(With inputs from agencies)