News Analysis India

Tag: Digvijaya Singh

  • Madhya Pradesh: After Digvijaya Singh video on unity surfaces on social media, BJP says Kamal Nath is target

    By PTI

    BHOPAL: A video showing Congress Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh exhorting party leaders to stand united failing which it would be tough to find workers post the 2023 Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh surfaced on social media on Sunday, leading to the ruling BJP saying it was yet another example of “groupism” gripping the grand old party.

    The video, which has been purportedly shot in Ratlam, has Singh telling party workers about the urgent need for unity.

    “You are not ready to sit together. I am here but you are standing separately…This will not do. I am telling you the election of 2023 (Assembly elections of Madhya Pradesh) will be the last one. If you will not contest elections honestly then be ready to sit at home. The Congress will not make a comeback and even finding workers (for the party) will be hard,” he says in the video.

    Ratlam District Congress (City) president Mahendra Kataria told PTI Singh was speaking to party workers outside the local circuit house on Saturday.

    “On Saturday morning, Singh told party workers who had come to meet him to gather at the lawn. He expressed displeasure after seeing the workers who came from Jaora (a town in Ratlam district) standing in groups separately. So, he told them to be united,” Kataria said.

    Mocking the Congress over the video, state BJP secretary Rajneesh Agrawal said Singh was highlighting groupism in the party and that the video was aimed at unseating Kamal Nath as the state unit president.

    “Singh already knows the truth that it is a distant dream for Congress to regain power in MP in 2023. He knows his party will become non-existent after that. However, Singh purposefully mentioned groupism in the party in the video to highlight that all this was happening under the leadership of Kamal Nath,” Agrawal claimed.

  • COVID: Digvijaya, others booked for protest near Shivraj Chouhan’s residence

    By PTI

    BHOPAL: Congress Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh and some two dozen others were booked on Saturday for COVID-19 norms violation in connection with a sit-in protest held near Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s residence a day earlier, a police official said.

    They were charged under Indian Penal Code section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant) for holding a dharna, said Shyamla Hills police station in charge Tarun Bhati.

    Singh on Friday staged a protest near CM Chouhan’s residence here to highlight the plight of the people affected by Tem and Suthalia irrigation projects, and had alleged that the latter was not giving him an appointment to discuss the matter.

    Singh was marching towards the CM’s residence when police had stopped him, after which he began a sit-in protest on the spot.

    The protest was called off some four hours later after Singh received an assurance of an appointment with the CM on Sunday.

  • Congress leader Digvijaya Singh invites Kunal Kamra, Munawar Faruqui​ to hold comedy show in Bhopal

    By PTI

    BHOPAL: Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Monday invited stand-up comedians Kunal Kamra and Munawar Faruqui to hold a programme at Bhopal in the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh after they were recently denied permission for shows in Bengaluru.

    Faruqui was last month denied nod to hold a show at Bengaluru in Karnataka amid the protest by the Hindu right wing outfits.

    A few days later, Kamra, a vocal critic of the government, said his stand-up shows scheduled to be held in Bengaluru were cancelled after the organisers received threats.

    On Monday, Digvijaya Singh in a Twitter post said, “I will organise a show for you Kunal and Munawar in Bhopal. All responsibility will be mine. Only condition is that the subject of comedy will be Digvijaya Singh. Sanghis (RSS cadre) should not object to this!! Don’t be afraid!! Give the date and time as per your convenience. All your conditions are accepted.”

    In his post, the Rajya Sabha member also tagged a news article related to Kamra.

    Earlier this year, Faruqui had spent a month in jail at Indore in MP following a complaint by a BJP MLA’s son in January for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.

  • People doubtful about repeal of farm laws as BJP leaders claim they will be brought back: Digvijaya Singh

    Digvijaya Singh said that in the country's democratic set-up, the prime minister is 'first among the equals' and decisions should be taken in consultation with other cabinet members.

  • After BJP MLA’s ‘threat’ to break knees, Digvijaya Singh says he will chant Ramdhun at his house

    By PTI

    BHOPAL: Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Saturday said he would visit BJP MLA Rameshwar Sharma’s house and chant Lord Ram’s name after the latter allegedly asked people to break the knees of Congressmen.

    “I am a Congressman, let’s see who has the strength to break my knees,” Singh, a former chief minister, tweeted.

    As a Gandhian, I will answer violence with non-violence, he said.

    “On November 24, I will go to Rameshwar Sharma’s house from the statue of Mahatma Gandhi and recite Ramdhun (Ram’s name) for an hour, asking God to give him good sense,” Singh added, while sharing a video of Sharma’s speech.

    In the video, Sharma is seen addressing a gathering.

    “Digvijaya Singh came here, has he done anything?Break the knees if any Congressman comes here,” he is heard saying.

    While the MLA from Bhopal Huzur constituency could not be contacted for comment, sources close to him said he was speaking at Kalkheda village in the district.

    Sharma was talking about the illegal construction made by a local Congress leader on government land in the village, they claimed.

  • Aryan victimised because he is Shah Rukh Khan’s son: Digvijaya; BJP says stop appeasement politics

    By PTI

    BHOPAL: Senior Congress leader from Madhya Pradesh, Digvijaya Singh, on Saturday alleged Aryan Khan, arrested by the NCB in connection with a drugs case in Mumbai, is being victimised because he is the son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

    Taking a swipe, BJP said Singh was playing the politics of “appeasement”. Aryan Khan (23) was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on October 3 following a raid on a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast.

    Currently in jail, Aryan on Wednesday moved the Bombay High Court after a special court rejected his bail application. The HC will hear his bail plea on October 26. “It is sad Shah Rukh’s son is being victimised for being his son. What is his crime? Someone accompanying him had 5 grams of drugs with him!! What about Tonnes of Heroin seized at Mundra Port? Who is Kuldeep Singh? Would NCB and now NIA investigating this case please tell us?,” Digvijaya Singh said in a tweet in English on Saturday morning.

    Nearly 3,000 kg of heroin was seized from two containers at the Mundra Port in Gujarat by the DRI last month.

    The drug haul is considered to be one of the biggest in the world with the value of the seized heroin estimated to be Rs 21,000 crore in the international markets.

    Hitting back at Digvijaya, the Madhya Pradesh BJP said the Congress leader has delivered a verdict without waiting for the court.

    “Finally, Digvijay Singh came to the rescue of Aryan Khan. The matter is right now sub-judice, the investigating agency is checking the facts but he (Singh) has given his verdict! After all, for how long will you continue to mislead people by doing politics of appeasement?” the BJP asked.

    Talking to PTI, BJP legislator Rameshwar Sharma said Singh should have faith in the country’s judiciary. “Congress and Digvijay Singh misused the law and always believed in such acts. But the law doesn’t distinguish people based on faith. This is not a Hindu-Muslim issue and Digvijay Singh should change his mindset now,” he said.

    Sharma said nobody had a personal enmity with Shah Rukh Khan or his son as the people have made him star by watching his movies.

  • Supreme Court judge must probe Amazon ‘bribery’ report, says Congress leader Digvijaya Singh

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Sunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of promoting multinational companies at the cost of the country’s small businesses and demanded a probe by a Supreme Court judge into a report of what he claimed was bribery involving e-commerce giant Amazon.

    Singh was reacting to a recent report that Amazon spent about Rs 8,546 crore or USD 1.2 billion in legal and professional expenses in the country between 2018 and 2020.

    However, in a letter to Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, Amazon had called the reports inaccurate that “appears to stem from a misunderstanding” of some filings.

    “Now, legal fees are either court fees or fees to the advocates. Even the annual budget of the Law Ministry is only Rs 1,100 crore, and advocates’ fees cannot be that high. We demand an investigation into the allegations by a judge of the Supreme Court. A probe would reveal as to which political party, officials and politicians accept bribes,” Singh told reporters here.

    He also asked if Amazon paid bribes for a change in the (Union) government’s FDI policy that directly benefited e-commerce giants like the former at the cost of India’s small and medium retailers.

    Singh also sought an investigation into the inter-corporate relationship between the sister companies of Amazon, which, as per reports, together with paid the fees.

    Talking to reporters at the Congress headquarters here, Singh said RSS-inclined magazine ‘Panchjanya’ recently compared Amazon to today’s East India Company “because Modi’s approach is now focused on large corporate sectors.”

    The Rajya Sabha MP claimed PM Modi, on coming to power, had said his government will continue with the e-commerce policy framed by the Congress-led UPA, but a major policy shift was seen in 2016.

    The Modi government allowed 100 per cent FDI in retail, “which was a direct attack on neighbourhood shops, and from then till today, small and medium retailers are the worst affected due to this”, he said.

    BJP leaders, who were against Aadhaar card, GST, MNREGA and FDI in retail (when in the opposition), changed their stand after coming to power to mislead people, he said, adding that “they (BJP) are now totally anti-farmer, anti-consumer, anti-small and medium trader and industry”.

    Due to demonetisation, the ill-conceived GST and the COVID-19 pandemic, four lakh small and medium industries were destroyed, he said.

    “Modi announced a package of Rs 20 lakh crore, but there was nothing in it for small and medium industries. It was meant to clear the balance sheet of large corporations,” Singh claimed.

    The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister went on to add that the three new farm laws passed by the Centre in September last year were meant to help large corporations in the agriculture sector at the cost of small and medium traders operating in APMCs.

    He also sought a Supreme Court probe into the Mundra port drug haul case, saying e did not trust the National Investigation Agency because several accused in blast cases were acquitted after the Modi government came to power.

    How can one trust if the prosecution starts speaking on behalf of the defendants, Singh asked.

    On his recent acknowledgement of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s help to him during the Gujarat leg of Narmada Parikrama undertaken by him in 2017, Singh said he will make arrangements for Shah in Madhya Pradesh if he undertakes the circumambulation of the holy river.

  • Congress leader Digvijaya Singh acknowledges help by Amit Shah, RSS workers during Narmada pilgrimage

    By PTI

    BHOPAL: On other days Digvijaya Singh is among staunchest critics of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Union home minister Amit Shah, but on Thursday he revealed how Shah as well as RSS workers had helped him during his `Narmada Parikrama’ four years ago.

    The senior Congress leader and his journalist wife Amrita had undertaken the arduous journey on foot or `Parikrama’ along the banks of the river Narmada in 2017.

    “Once, we reached our destination in Gujarat around 10 at night. There was no way ahead through the forested area and there was no facility for overnight stay,” Singh said, speaking during the launch of “Narmada Ke Pathik”, a book penned by his long-time associate O P Sharma.

    “A forest officer arrived, and you will be surprised to know that he told me that Amit Shah had directed him to fully cooperate with us,” Singh told the audience.

    “Elections were going on (in Gujarat), Digvijaya is their biggest critic, but he (Shah) ensured that there should not be any problem during our yatra. They found way for us through the mountains and also arranged food for all of us,” the Congress veteran said.

    Singh had started the over 3000 km-long journey which lasted six months from Barman Ghat in Narsinghpur district on September 30, 2017.

    “Till today I have not met Shah, but I expressed my gratitude to him through proper channels,” he added.

    This was an example of “political coordination, adjustment and friendship which has nothing to do with politics and ideology,” the Congress veteran said.

    Though he is a strong critic of the RSS, its workers kept meeting him during the yatra, Singh said.

    “I asked them why they were taking so much trouble, they told me that they had orders to meet me,” he said.

    When he was passing through Bharuch region, RSS workers arranged the stay for his group at a Manjhi Samaj Dharamshala one day and the hall where they were put up had photos of RSS stalwarts Keshav Baliram Hedgewar and Madhavrao Sadashivrao Golwalkar on the walls, the Congress leader recounted.

    Singh said he was mentioning all this to let people know that religion and politics are different, and he had “taken help from all” during his pilgrimage.

    A leader of the BJP’s youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha and three other BJP workers were part of his group, and they are now inseparable part of his ‘Narmada family”, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said.

    Singh also recounted that late spiritual leader Daddaji had directed his follower and actor Ashutosh Rana to make arrangements for `bhandara’ (community feast) at Barman Ghat.

    A few spiritual leaders and former Union ministers Suresh Pachouri and Kantilal Bhuria also spoke at the book launch function.

    Singh’s wife Amrita too recounted her experiences and stressed the need to conserve the environment along the river.

    Shivna Prakashan, the publisher, announced that five per cent of sales proceeds will be earmarked for the conservation of the Narmada.

  • RSS school comments: BJP spokesman sends legal notice to Digvijaya Singh

    By PTI

    BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh BJP spokesman Pankaj Chaturvedi on Wednesday sent a legal notice to senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh over his controversial comments against RSS-run Saraswati Shishu Mandir schools.

    He asked the Rajya Sabha MP to withdraw his comments and tender an apology to students and teachers of the school or face legal action.

    “Singh should take back his controversial statement regarding Shishu Mandir and seek apology from students and teachers of the school spread across India within seven days failing which I will take legal action against him in a competent court,” Chaturvedi said.

    Chaturvedi sent the legal notice to Singh through his lawyer Pramod Saxena.

    Singh blamed RSS-run Saraswati Shishu Mandir, a private network of schools, for alleged communal bitterness in the country, saying these institutions “are sowing seeds of hatred in young minds”.

    The former CM made the remarks in Bhopal on Saturday.

    BJP leaders had slammed Singh for his remarks.

    Singh on Wednesday advised politicians to develop a thick skin if they want to survive in the world of politics where they are often subjected to criticism.

    In an indirect reference to the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh, he said it uses its policy of giving advertisements as a weapon to arm-twist the media.

    “Unless you are thick-skinned, you won’t be able to do politics,” the former CM said.

    Singh made the comments while recalling a terse reply (about thick skin) given by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to bureaucrat-turned-politician Natwar Singh (ex-Union minister), when the latter went to her after retirement wearing khadi cloths to tell her that he had now become a politician.

    The Rajya Sabha MP was addressing a function of the newly-formed Central India Press Club, a body of journalists of Bhopal.

    BJP leaders, including state agriculture minister Kamal Patel, were present at the event.

    After narrating this incident related to Indira Gandhi, Singh turned to Patel, and said, “Tell your colleagues (in BJP) that if they are in politics, they should have a thick skin. Have the capacity to bear criticism.”

    Singh said there is a trend of spreading hatred among the people in the country and this is not good for journalism or journalists.

    Referring to the state government’s advisement policy, he said, “It is being used as a weapon. If you publish (their news) then you will get an advertisement otherwise not. This is not a right policy.”

    Singh said things were different when he was the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh (1993 to 2003).

    “If one does not have the right in journalism to say the truth, if there is no power in the pen. There is no use of it. In my 10-year-long tenure (as CM), so many critical things were printed against me, but I have never stopped advertisements of any publication,” he said.

    “If politicians have no capacity to hear criticism, they should not enter politics it,” the Congress leader said.

    Backing the demand for setting up a National Press Commission for improving job conditions of journalists, the Rajya Sabha MP said contractual appointments under hire and fire policy has created a big gap in salaries of those at top and bottom rungs.

    He said scribes are facing a tough time due to the coronavirus pandemic.

    Citing a report of the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), a reputed think-tank, Singh said in the last five years, 78 per cent of workforce in the media sector has been rendered jobless.

    “In September 2016, nearly 10.25 lakh people were employed in the media sector, while in August 2021, this number was just 2.25 lakh,” he said.

  • Bharat bandh: Centre’s farm laws take away right to approach court, says Digvijaya

    By PTI

    BHOPAL: Congress Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh on Monday took part in the ‘Bharat bandh’ called by groups protesting against the Centre’s farm laws and said these legislations take away the right to approach court for grievance redressal.

    Talking to protesting farmers during the shutdown here, Singh said the right to move court was available even when Gandhiji was leading the Champaran movement against the British, but the three agri marketing laws passed by the Centre compelled a farmer to approach the sub divisional magistrate rather than the judiciary.

    “As per these three new laws, if the purchaser of the farm produce refuses to pay, the cultivator will have to go to the SDM. This amounts to snatching away our fundamental rights. And that is why we oppose it,” he said.

    He said the BJP manifesto never mentioned anything about the farm laws and these were brought in without consultations with stakeholders in the sector.

    The Narendra Modi government, through these laws, was working towards demolishing the mandi system and handing it over to the private sector, Singh alleged.