The attack on former Union minister and senior Congress leader Vidya Charan Shukla in Chhattisgarh on March 7 highlights the bitter rivalry between him and Chief Minister Ajit Jogi.

Shukla alleges his attackers were "remote-controlled" from the state capital Raipur and the people are unhappy with Jogi's performance.

After issuing several feelers about floating a new party Shukla indicated he would make an announcement on April 11.

In an interview with Chief Correspondent Tara Shankar Sahay, he spoke about the genesis of his spat with Jogi and the reason why Congress President Sonia Gandhi continues to support the latter.

Why were you attacked in Chhattisgarh and who was responsible for it?

To answer your question it is necessary to go into the genesis. It began with the struggle for the demand for Chhattisgarh, a very difficult task. I began the struggle with 50,000 people joining the agitation. We came to Delhi and gheraoed [mobbed] Parliament so that the Chhattisgarh Bill could be passed. There were 11,000 demonstrators present.

There was keen competition among Congress legislators for the chief minister's post to lead the newly created state. The majority was with me and the Congress president said whoever had majority support would become leader of the Chhattisgarh party automatically. She told me on several occasions that I seemed ahead in the race.

However, she added there was pressure on her that a tribal party legislator should become chief minister but she was disinclined to give any weight to the matter.

Chhattisgarh's legislators number 90. The Congress Legislature Party had 48 MLAs out of which I had a following of 28 legislators.

On the day the election of the CLP leader was to take place, the Congress president summoned three observers including Ghulam Nabi Azad and (Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister) Digvijay Singh. She told them they had to elect Jogi as CLP leader...

How come?

It was absolute duplicity on her part, pretending I had majority support while striving to ensure that Jogi became chief minister. I don't think the Congress president has any regard for the norms in public life.

Digvijay Singh protested against the party chief's decision and underlined that Jogi had no experience, he did not have majority support and nobody wanted him. But there was great insistence on her part that only he should be elected. Finally, Digvijay Singh had to follow the party's chief's order.

What was the reason behind the Congress chief's apparent preference for Jogi?

Even now it is a mystery to all of us. Various theories have been put forward. Some say she belongs to his community, some say he lived up to certain obligations, things like that. But I have no evidence of any of these things. I will let them pass.

During the CLP leader's election there was a lot of resistance from Congress legislators against Jogi's name because they had undesirable experiences when he was collector . There is a corruption case pending against Jogi in the Madhya Pradesh high court for his alleged role in the Kodar irrigation project where one of his deputy collectors was forced to resign.

There is also a controversy raging whether Jogi is really a tribal or not with almost 60 Chhattisgarh tribal legislators expressing their doubt. But Digvijay Singh, on the party chief's instruction, was able to steamroll the MLAs' objections and get Jogi elected as leader of the legislature party.

I boycotted the meeting and so did half-a-dozen Congress legislators. I persuaded my other supporters to attend the meeting because we knew it was a fait accompli.

What happened after that?

After the so-called election of this gentleman he formed his ministry. It soon became evident that he was a poor administrator and a poorer politician. His defeat during the parliamentary election in 1999 from the Shahdol constituency proved to be a blessing in disguise because had he won he would never have become chief minister of Chhattisgarh.

Jogi enlisted support from my elder brother Shyama Charan Shukla by taking his son in the state ministry. But I stood my ground and said I would not compromise with Jogi whom I described as evil. He is corrupting public life, ruling through sheer corruption. It is demeaning.

And yet you have not approached the Congress president?

Unfortunately, she has a closed mind as far as Jogi is concerned. MPs, MLAs, public figures and journalists have highlighted Jogi's corruption but to no avail. You will be surprised that even people from the minority communities including Christians have complained against the chief minister, about his way of functioning. That he is a disaster and the party will lose badly in the coming election. But for reasons best known to her, the Congress president is not budging an inch.

Doesn't the Congress leadership comprise other leaders apart from Sonia?

In the Congress party, the leadership comprises only of one person -- that is, the Congress president. The rest are all followers. Therefore, they can only come and make their submission. It is only infrequently when the party chief decides to become a little democratic-minded that she puts up the matter before the Congress Working Committee or the All India Congress Committee. But that is not happening now.

Ever since she got elected (as party chief), Sonia Gandhi is taking most of the decisions herself and the working committee approves whatever decision she takes.

Are you saying the Congress chief is impervious to dissent?

It looks like that. At least, it is in the case of Chhattisgarh, I don't know about other states.

And you say Jogi is now sitting pretty?

When he became CLP leader he was not an MLA. After he took oath as CM, he began searching for a safe constituency and zeroed in on a tribal constituency in the state's remotest part. A former Bharatiya Janata Party legislator was prevailed over to make way for Jogi in the Marwahi assembly constituency. Then the chief minister used the entire government machinery, money power and muscle to get elected. However, a petition is pending in the high court against his election with allegations pertaining to corrupt practices.

Jogi's unpopularity soon reached a zenith because he had promised the moon to one and all during his election from the Marwahi constituency.

Could we now return to the attack on you?

I first visited Marwahi when Jogi got elected. I had gone to attend a marriage and the [welcome] reception I received as an opponent of the chief minister convinced me that Jogi was placed on an increasingly bad wicket and it opened my eyes. The people wanted me to come again so I decided to make another visit. Marwahi had been sealed off by the chief minister and his men.

When I reached there they got quite alarmed. They lined up some anti-social elements to cause hindrance to my visit. They did their utmost to prevent me from getting accommodation in the circuit house although as a former senior minister I am entitled to it. They even locked the gate. After a great deal of effort, the people who had invited me managed accommodation in a little cottage without any telephone or other amenities in the hinterland.

The villagers had organised a big reception for me but my political opponents warned me they would not tolerate activity geared against the chief minister. I had to cover eight villages in the constituency. Eventually, when I was in the cottage, some goons came. My two personal security officers warned me that mischief was afoot. There were posters saying ' Vidya Charan go back ' and 'Jogi zindabad.'

Then 52 people in half a dozen vehicles attacked my supporters. They had lathis and steel rods. Three of my workers were injured. My PSOs [personal security officers] took out their revolvers and the attackers stopped.

However, the villagers picked up cudgels on my behalf and my attackers suddenly did a volte face. Three of them approached me in my cottage with boxes of sweets saying the incident should be forgotten. I think they changed their aggressive stand only after seeing that the villagers had come out in my favour. But it became clear that my attackers were being remote-controlled from Raipur.

What is the feedback about this issue among your friends in Delhi?

I feel the Congress high command has not given a serious thought about the barrage of complaints against Jogi.

Are we poised to see a parting of ways between you and the Congress?

I will speak to you on April 11 when maybe I can answer some more of your questions.

Photograph: Jewella C Miranda; Design: Dominic Xavier