BHOPAL: Former chief minister and state Congress president Kamal Nath on Thursday appointed former minister for higher education Jeetu Patwari as the party’s media department chief. Patwari is also one of the four working presidents of the state party unit.
He succeeds Shobha Oza, who was recently appointed State Women’s Commission chairperson before the Congress government was brought down by 22 rebel MLAs of the Jyotiraditya Scindia camp last month.
The appointment letter from Kamal Nath to Jeetu Patwari said, “Jeetu Patwari (MLA), working president, Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee is being given additional responsibility as Madhya Pradesh media president. I hope that you will with all dedication work according to the expectations of AICC president Sonia Gandhi and strengthen the Congress party organisation.”
Former president of the state Youth Congress, Jeetu Patwari is two-time legislator from Rau constituency of Indore. He was minister for higher education, sports and youth welfare in the 15-month Kamal Nath government. He shot to prominence and came close to the high-command when former Congress national president Rahul Gandhi pillion rode on his motorbike through a curfew imposed after the Mandsaur firing incident in June 2016.
Last month, during the political crisis arising out of Jyotiraditya Scindia’s rebellion and leaving the party, Patwari went to Karnataka to bring back one of the 22 rebel MLAs lodged in a resort there. Patwari along with father and close relatives of MLA from Haatpipaliya Manoj Choudhary went to Bengaluru to rescue the legislator from alleged confinement by BJP. Patwari again hit the news headlines as he jostled with the Karnataka police and was arrested trying to meet the rebel MLAs.