Investors want to open lantern factories in MP now: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Bhopal: Taking a dig at the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh over power cuts, former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said Saturday that investors now want to open lantern and inverter factories in the state.

The BJP has been targeting the state government claiming that there are frequent power outages in many areas. "We (the previous BJP government) ended the era of inverters (which are used as power back-up). The sale of lanterns and chimneys also ended," Chouhan said.

He was speaking to reporters here after returning from Delhi where he took over his new assignment as national convener for the BJP's membership campaign. "But many people want to open inverter, lantern and chimney factories in MP now....people are not getting electricity so they have to buy inverters," he said.

He also alleged that corruption is rampant under the Congress rule, "money is being charged for everything" and welfare schemes for the poor are being closed. The law and order situation has collapsed, Chouhan said. "The Kamal Nath government is busy with only transfers and postings.

Rule of goons is prevailing everywhere," the BJP leader alleged. "People are rightly saying that `Bantadhar's Raj' has returned to MP," he said, using the disparaging term coined by Opposition for former chief minister Digvijay Singh's rule from 1993 to 2003.