Madhya Pradesh: Former BJP MP Makhan Singh Solanki joins Congress

Barwani (Madhya Pradesh) [India], April 1 (ANI): Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament (MP), Makhan Singh Solanki has joined the Congress ahead of the assembly election which will be held at the end of this year.
Solanki took membership of the Congress party on Friday in the presence of veteran Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh at a program in Barwani district.
Solanki was elected as MP from Khargone Lok Sabha constituency in 2009.
Addressing the program Digvijaya Singh said, "Solanki joined the Congress on Friday (March 31) and expressed his anguish from the stage about how he was treated and humiliated. What is his fault? He won every election from Sarpanch to MP but did not get a ticket in 2014. He was humiliated."
"BJP could not give respect to Dalit and tribal people of the country, which has been written in the Constitution. Tribals are the oldest natives of this country, however, the BJP says that they are not tribals but forest dwellers. Those who live in the forest and later move to the city, will his rights be lost? Congress made tribal people a sarpanch and raised them to higher posts by giving reservation, today their rights are being cut," the congress leader said.
"There are only tall talks and attractive promises in the conferences of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. Modi had said that he would bring so much black money from abroad that Rs 15 lakhs would be given to everyone, but not a single penny had come. Most of the black money was deposited abroad in Narendra Modi's government," the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister claimed.
Singh pointed out that the BJP government was giving Rs 6000 Samman Nidhi, but had increased the prices of gas, urea, diesel, medicines and electricity. "When the Congress party returns to power, the electricity bills get cheap, every farmer gets electricity for free and provides one bulb connection free to the poor people. Electricity bills of thousands of rupees were charged during BJP rule but during Kamal Nath's government the electricity bill of houses was halved," Singh said.
"After that some of our MLAs were bought, the king and emperor (referring to Jyotiradiya Scindia) were sold but not a single tribal MLA was sold. The character of a tribal is honest, he does what he says," the Congress leader said.
He also targeted Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and said, "Shivraj Mama remembered our sisters after years, he will put Rs 1000 in the account of women but has imposed many rules for the scheme."
"When Makan Singh was the district president, he had given jobs to 5000 people. If the Congress government is formed, then we will fill the posts of SC/ST which are not filled by the BJP for one and a half years. We will give the rights to the district municipal corporations to recruit teachers. The assembly election is round the corner, make the Congress government and the sarpanches will get the rights they had during my government, the poor will be strong. If our government is formed, we will give Rs 1500 to women, and if the government is formed at the centre, we will give Rs 6000 a month to the poor in the minimum income scheme. On every occasion tribal people will get a chance," he added.
Singh also congratulated Makan Singh Solanki and said that the election manifesto of the party is being prepared for the upcoming assembly polls. (ANI)