M A I N   N E W S

Cong, BJP spar over booing of Oppn CMs
* After Hooda, jeers for Jharkhand CM Soren at PM function
* Prithviraj Chavan skips Modi event in Nagpur
Vibha Sharma/Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 21
The BJP and Congress were at daggers drawn today as Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan skipped Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s function at Nagpur and Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren was booed at PM’s event in Ranchi.

While the Congress slammed the BJP-RSS combine for ‘orchestrating hooliganism’ against CMs of Congress-ruled states, the BJP advised the opposition party to “introspect why its leaders were not being accepted by the people of the country”.

“This is the first time the CMs of non-NDA states are being humiliated. It’s being done in a planned, and organised manner by the RSS-BJP combine,” said Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma.

“It’s an orchestrated hooliganism. Never before has any PM sought to publicly humiliate any Chief Minister. Narendra Modi is guilty of attacking federalism not by default but by design. The BJP should desist from such acts and the people should judge BJP’s conduct,” said Sharma. He wondered why the PM has suddenly decided to visit poll-bound states to rededicate to the nation projects already commissioned during the UPA tenure.

On Chavan not attending Modi’s function, the Congress described as an act of self-respect given public booing of non-BJP CMs at PM’s events. On Tuesday, Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda was jeered by a hostile crowd in PM’s presence in Kaithal. The Congress has asked non-NDA CMs to avoid attending PM’s public functions.

The BJP trashed charges that the hooting of Congress CMs was orchestrated. “If their CMs are unpopular, they should introspect. The Congress feels its political fortunes can only be revived if it indulges in mudslinging,” BJP spokesman Nalin Kohli said. Kohli recounted instances where non-NDA CMs were booed by an angry crowd. “Nitish Kumar had to face public anger when he was the Chief Minister.