BJP slams Kamal Nath for comment on UP, Bihar workers taking up jobs in MP

New Delhi: Highlighting Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath's "outsider" background, BJP leaders Tuesday termed "divisive" his claim that jobs given to people from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh deny employment to youth of his state.

Nath told reporters after taking office on Monday that his government will provide incentives to industries that give 70 per cent of their jobs to those from his state and indicated that people from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh get employment in Madhya Pradesh at the cost of the local population.

Criticising Nath, Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar said he appeared to be unaware of existing rules that prioritise jobs for the native population.

"He has also been a Union minister. He should be aware of these rules. What he is talking about is already in place... by making such a claim, he is misleading people," the BJP leader and Lok Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh told reporters.

BJP general secretary Kailash Vijaywargiya agreed with his colleague and accused Nath of promoting "divisive" politics and pitting one region against another.

Taking a dig at the chief minister, Vijaywargiya raised his "outsider" background and asked if the statement he has made should be implemented in politics too.

"Kamal Nath was born in Kanpur. He received his education in (West) Bengal. His business is spread across the country. He is now chief minister of Madhya Pradesh. Such a statement does not behove him," the BJP leader, who is also from Madhya Pradesh, said.

BJP leader Giriraj Singh sought an apology from Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

"They (people from UP and Bihar) contribute to the progress of the state through their hard work. Kamal Nath should answer whether India is in a federal structure or not. Congress president Rahul Gandhi should apologize to the people of Bihar and UP," he said.

Former Union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy, an MP from Bihar, said people from his state and Uttar Pradesh have been working in different parts of the country and played a role in the development of these states.