Bhopal, March 11: The Congress government in Madhya Pradesh, led by Chief Minister Kamal Nath, has appointed Swami Namdev Tyagi, popularly known as Computer Baba, as the chairman of 'Ma Narmada, Ma Kshipra and Ma Mandaknini River Trust. Interestingly, the Congress party had opposed the previous BJP government's decision to confer Computer Baba the status of minister of state (MoS).

"State government has appointed Computer Baba, resident of Gommat Giri Ashram, Indore, as chairman of 'Ma Narmada, Ma Kshipra and Ma Mandaknini Nadi Nyas (River Trust)' till further orders. The appointment will be effective with immediate effect," read an order issued by the Spiritual Department of MP government on Saturday. The state government, however, did not specify whether the self-styled godman will enjoy the status equivalent to a cabinet minister or MoS.

"I am thankful to Congress president Rahul Gandhi and CM Kamal Nath for assigning me this work. I have decided to begin the task as soon as possible though there are some complications due to Lok Sabha elections. I would focus on the conservation of three rivers and check illegal mining and pollution," Computer Baba told TOI.

Computer Baba, who had been appointed as a minister of state by the BJP government, had resigned on October 1 while accusing then Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan of not fulfilling promises, including cleaning the Narmada river. After quitting, he supported the Congress in the state assembly polls held in November last year.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 11, 2019 12:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).