BJP says village panchayats under Congress hardly has any land for building schools

The BJP took a dig at Congress leader Kamal Nath Wednesday, saying his promise of building a cowshed in every panchayat in Madhya Pradesh shows his "lack of understanding" of conditions in a village as panchayats has hardly any land, even for building schools.

Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, who hails from the poll-bound state, told reporters that Kamal Nath has "practiced politics sitting in air-conditioned rooms" and has little idea about conditions in a village.

Panchayats nowadays have little land left and the government has to seek land from farmers for even building schools, Vijayvargiya said.

Kamal Nath, the state Congress president, has promised his party will build a cowshed in every panchayat of the state if voted to power.

"Will he bring land for it from his village in Kolkata," Vijayvargiya asked wryly, in a reference to the Congress leader's long personal association with the West Bengal city before he launched his political career from Madhya Pradesh.

He also played down the significance of protests by groups claiming to represent 'upper' castes against the Modi government's decision to strengthen a law on atrocities against Dalits.

Referring to an incident in which stones were thrown at Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's carcade, he said it was "Congress-sponsored".

Assembly polls are scheduled to be held in the state by the year-end.