News Analysis India

Tag: Madhya Pradesh Congress

  • Congress divided over former Madhya Pradesh minister’s ‘kill Modi’ remark; Pateriya sent to jail

    Express News Service

    BHOPAL: The opposition Congress seems divided on the controversy generated by its senior leader and ex-Madhya Pradesh minister Raja Pateriya’s “be prepared to murder Modi” statement.

    The state wing of the party headed by ex-CM Kamal Nath has not only distanced itself from Pateriya’s statement but also issued a show cause notice to him seeking a reply within three days on why he shouldn’t be expelled from the party over his highly objectionable statement.

    However, the Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Dr Govind Singh defended Pateriya on Tuesday.

    “By murder, he (Pateriya) meant defeating Modi in elections. He is a leader who is committed to non-violence, forget about violence by humans, he is even opposed to the violence meted out to animals. He shouldn’t have been arrested in the matter,” Govind Singh maintained.

    Both Pateriya and Govind Singh are known to be Digvijaya Singh loyalists.

    Hitting out at Govind Singh’s defence of Pateriya, the state home minister Narottam Mishra said, “by defending Pateriya’s statement, the opposition leader has defended a criminal. What Govind Singh spoke was what he has been asked to by the Italian Congress of the Nehru-Gandhi family from Delhi.”

    Earlier, on Monday, the MP Congress had distanced itself from Pateriya’s statements, saying that it had to do nothing with such statements that promote political violence. The state party chief Kamal Nath, while condemning Pateriya’s statement, had said that “I pray for PM Modi’s long life, me and every other true Congress worker is totally committed to the ideology of non-violence.”

    Meanwhile, Tuesday early morning, the Panna district police arrested Pateriya from his residence in Hatta town of adjoining Damoh district at around 5.30 am. He was subsequently produced before the competent court in Panna district, from where he was sent to 14 days of judicial custody by the court.

    A massive row had erupted in MP on Monday, over a viral video in which Pateriya was seen telling party workers to “be prepared to murder Modi (PM Modi) in the sense of defeating him in polls to save the Constitution.”

    In the 30 seconds video, the ex-minister was seen addressing party workers, “Modi (PM Narendra Modi) will finish elections, Modi will create divisions on the basis of religion, caste and language and the future life of Dalits, tribes and minorities is in danger. If Constitution is to be saved then be ready to murder Modi, in the sense by defeating him.”

    An FIR was lodged against Raja Pateriya at Pawai police station of Panna district on Monday based on a complaint lodged by a PWD sub-engineer. Pateriya was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including 504 (Insult intended to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation).

    In the complaint, the sub-engineer Sanjay Khare had alleged that Pateriya had trespassed into the PWD Guest House on Sunday on the pretext of a short stay and held a meeting of Congress workers, where he talked about “murdering Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”  

    BHOPAL: The opposition Congress seems divided on the controversy generated by its senior leader and ex-Madhya Pradesh minister Raja Pateriya’s “be prepared to murder Modi” statement.

    The state wing of the party headed by ex-CM Kamal Nath has not only distanced itself from Pateriya’s statement but also issued a show cause notice to him seeking a reply within three days on why he shouldn’t be expelled from the party over his highly objectionable statement.

    However, the Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Dr Govind Singh defended Pateriya on Tuesday.

    “By murder, he (Pateriya) meant defeating Modi in elections. He is a leader who is committed to non-violence, forget about violence by humans, he is even opposed to the violence meted out to animals. He shouldn’t have been arrested in the matter,” Govind Singh maintained.

    Both Pateriya and Govind Singh are known to be Digvijaya Singh loyalists.

    Hitting out at Govind Singh’s defence of Pateriya, the state home minister Narottam Mishra said, “by defending Pateriya’s statement, the opposition leader has defended a criminal. What Govind Singh spoke was what he has been asked to by the Italian Congress of the Nehru-Gandhi family from Delhi.”

    Earlier, on Monday, the MP Congress had distanced itself from Pateriya’s statements, saying that it had to do nothing with such statements that promote political violence. The state party chief Kamal Nath, while condemning Pateriya’s statement, had said that “I pray for PM Modi’s long life, me and every other true Congress worker is totally committed to the ideology of non-violence.”

    Meanwhile, Tuesday early morning, the Panna district police arrested Pateriya from his residence in Hatta town of adjoining Damoh district at around 5.30 am. He was subsequently produced before the competent court in Panna district, from where he was sent to 14 days of judicial custody by the court.

    A massive row had erupted in MP on Monday, over a viral video in which Pateriya was seen telling party workers to “be prepared to murder Modi (PM Modi) in the sense of defeating him in polls to save the Constitution.”

    In the 30 seconds video, the ex-minister was seen addressing party workers, “Modi (PM Narendra Modi) will finish elections, Modi will create divisions on the basis of religion, caste and language and the future life of Dalits, tribes and minorities is in danger. If Constitution is to be saved then be ready to murder Modi, in the sense by defeating him.”

    An FIR was lodged against Raja Pateriya at Pawai police station of Panna district on Monday based on a complaint lodged by a PWD sub-engineer. Pateriya was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including 504 (Insult intended to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation).

    In the complaint, the sub-engineer Sanjay Khare had alleged that Pateriya had trespassed into the PWD Guest House on Sunday on the pretext of a short stay and held a meeting of Congress workers, where he talked about “murdering Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”  

  • Madhya Pradesh Congress decides to fight 2023 Assembly polls under Kamal Nath’s leadership

    By PTI

    BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Congress leaders on Monday unanimously decided to contest the 2023 Assembly polls in the state under the leadership of former chief minister Kamal Nath.

    All senior Congress leaders unanimously told Nath he has to lead the party in the 2023 Assembly elections and all of them are committed with full vigor to fight the polls and to form the government in his leadership, a state Congress statement said.

    The decision, incidentally, was taken in a meeting chaired by Nath at his residence.

    In a tweet in Hindi, former Union minister and ex-state Congress president Arun Yadav said the 2023 polls will be fought against BJP misrule under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and Kamal Nath.

    Later talking to reporters, state Congress media department chairman Jitu Patwari said the party will contest the 2023 Assembly polls on issues like the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government’s misrule, corruption, farm crisis.

    The economy was in distress, social harmony was affected and youth as well as farmers were facing problems, he alleged, adding that a plan has been chalked out for the Congress to hold agitations under Nath on people’s issues.

    Former MP finance minister Tarun Bhanot said the financial condition of the state, which has a debt of over Rs 4 lakh crore, had worsened, while price rise was distressing people.

    The Congress will raise awareness among people on inflation, farmers’ problems and unemployment in a major way, Bhanot said.

    The meeting was attended by senior party leaders like Digvijaya Singh, Suresh Pachouri, Kantilal Bhuria, Ajay Singh, Arun Yadav, Jitu Patwari and Jaivardhan Singh, among others.

  • Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath meets Sonia Gandhi, to interact with party cells on return

    By PTI

    BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath on Monday met his party president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi, with insiders stating here that the agenda included “revitalizing” workers and cadre for the 2023 Assembly polls.

    MP Congress general secretary and media in charge KK Mishra told PTI that Nath and Gandhi met for an hour in New Delhi.

    “After returning from Delhi, Nathji is going to hold separate meetings with the office bearers of state party’s women cell, Scheduled Tribe wing, National Students Union of India (NSUI) and the Scheduled Caste group on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday respectively,” Mishra informed.

    The meeting has come at a time when the Congress is holding a Jan Jagran Abhiyan, a mass outreach programme that started on November 14 and is scheduled to continue till November 29, against the Narendra Modi government on issues like inflation, fuel price rise etc with people being asked to answer a 10-point questionnaire.

    In the 2018 Assembly polls, the Congress had managed to unseat the BJP but a rebellion by MLAs close to Jyotiraditya Scindia brought down the Kamal Nath government in March last year.

  • Madhya Pradesh Congress to set up outfit for 16-20 age group; BJP mocks move

    By PTI

    BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh Congress is set to form a new “non-political” outfit called the Bal Congress whose members will be in the 16-20 age group, a party functionary said on Saturday.

    The outfit will be formed on Sunday, to coincide with the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, celebrated nationwide as Children’s Day or Bal Diwas.

    “The party has outfits like NSUI for people above the age of 21. Bal Congress will be for those in the 16-20 age group. It will be set up to mark Bal Diwas. State unit chief Kamal Nath will formally launch the new organisation,” MP Congress spokesperson Bhupendra Gupta told PTI.

    “Bal Congress will not be a political outfit. Young people associated with this organisation will be taught the history of the Congress as well as that of the freedom struggle. It will spread the message of patriotism and nation-building,” he added.

    These adolescents will be taught about subjects like art of speech, personality development and communication skills, and kin of freedom fighters will also be contacted, he said, adding that former minister and Congress MLA Bala Bachchan has been made in charge of this new outfit.

    Mocking the move, MP BJP spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi said, “This is ridiculous. I think most Congress leaders are behaving in a childish manner, so senior leaders like Rahul Gandhi should also be made members of this outfit.”

  • Big win for Shivraj Singh Chouhan as BJP trounces Congress 3-1 in Madhya Pradesh bypolls

    By Express News Service

    BHOPAL: In what was seen as Shivraj Vs Kamal Nath battle, the Madhya Pradesh chief minister has outsmarted the Leader of Opposition.

    The CM, who is undoubtedly BJP’s most popular face in the state after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigned to the full against Nath, who not only joined the campaign trail late, but also largely remained confined to addressing lesser rallies than Chouhan.

    While Chouhan addressed 39 rallies between September 29 and October 27 (maximum 8 in Prithvipur assembly seat and minimum five in Jobat-ST assembly seat, besides 17 rallies in eight assembly segments of Khandwa Lok Sabha constituency), Kamal Nath addressed merely 13 rallies between October 12 and October 17. 

    Not only did 74-year-old Kamal Nath hit the campaign trail nearly two weeks after 62-year-old Chouhan did, but also addressed 26 fewer meetings than the present CM.

    And that wasn’t all. As Kamal Nath just stood confined to addressing a few rallies, Chouhan followed the rallies with night halts at the houses of BJP workers at five places in the by-poll bound assembly and parliamentary constituencies.

    ROUNDUP | BJP consolidates in Assam, MP; Congress wrests seats from it in four states; TMC reigns in Bengal

    “These polls have once again established that the CM is the most charismatic BJP leader in the state. His night halt in Jobat-ST seat, which has since decades been a Congress citadel, played a seminal role in boosting BJP’s chances. The night halt was followed by early morning chaupal with tribals, which not only boosted BJP prospects among tribals but also compelled the BJP workers to shelve their anger over the fielding of imported candidate (ex-Congress MLA Sulochana Rawat) instead of a core BJP candidate and work unitedly for the party’s success. On the other hand, Nath remained more in the air and less on the ground, sticking largely to the virtual world of Twitter,” said Chandrabhan Singh Bhadauria, a senior journalist, who extensively covered the Jobat-ST by-poll.

    Even in the Raigaon-SC seat of Satna district (a BJP citadel) which was the lone seat won by the Congress, the CM had started working on ground zero, even before the by-polls were announced. “It was largely due to faulty candidate selection which led to internal differences within the local party organisation and the absence of a BSP candidate that helped the Congress candidate win the by-election. There was no decline in the CM’s popularity anywhere in the constituency. Had the CM not toured the constituency proactively, the BJP candidate would have lost by much bigger than the present 12,000-plus votes margin,” Satna district-based political commentator Vishnukant Tripathi said.

    ALSO READ | Karnataka bypolls: Congress wins Hangal in CM Bommai’s home district, BJP win in Sindagi

    Not only was ex-CM Kamal Nath outclassed by Shivraj Singh Chouhan, but another Congress stalwart and ex-CM Digvijaya Singh too suffered major jolt due to the loss in Khandwa Lok Sabha and Jobat-ST seat, where electioneering was largely supervised by him. Particularly in the Khandwa Lok Sabha seat, the former MLA Raj Narayan Singh Purni was given the Congress ticket due to proximity to Singh only.

    The 3-1 by-poll win not only ended up becoming a shot in the arm for Chouhan (ending speculations about his replacement as CM), but also once again brought to the fore organisational capabilities and poll winning strategies of young state BJP president VD Sharma. “Though he came under heavy criticism over outsiders Sulochana Rawat (who won from Jobat-ST) and Shishupal Yadav (who won from Prithvipur) being fielded as BJP candidates instead of core BJP leaders, but his micro-level planning ensured the party’s triumph on three of the four seats,” said political journalist Chandrabhan Singh Bhaduaria.

    ALSO READ | Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) wins Bihar by-polls; divided opposition eats humble pie

    The loss of three out of four seats (two of which were won by Congress in 2018 polls) also once exposed the hollowness of the tall claims of the Congress party of being united in the by-polls. In Khandwa, fielding Raj Narayan Singh Purni instead of ex-MP and former union minister Arun Yadav, was seen to have largely prompted first-time Congress MLA Sachin Birla to switch to BJP just six days before the by-poll. Importantly, it was Birla’s Barwaha assembly segment (one of the eight seats making the Khandwa LS seat) from where the BJP led by maximum margin.

    In Jobat assembly seat, the Congress being a divided house became official, after the loser Congress candidate Mahesh Patel blamed some senior Congress leaders for the defeat. “Some Congress leaders have contributed to the party’s defeat, I’ll submit a report about it to state party chief Kamal Nath,” Patel said.        

    Results:

    Khandwa Lok Sabha seat: BJP’s Gyaneshwar Patil defeated Congress’s Raj Narayan Singh Purni by 82,140 votes (2019 LS polls: Congress won by 2.73 lakh plus votes)
    Jobat-ST assembly seat: BJP’s Sulochana Rawat defeated Congress’s Mahesh Patel by 6,104 votes. (2018 polls: Congress won by 2,056 votes)
    Prithvipur assembly seat: BJP’s Shishupal Yadav defeated Congress’s Nitendra Singh Rathore by 15,687 votes. (2018 polls: Congress defeated SP by 7620 votes)
    Raigaon-SC assembly seat: Congress’s Kalpana Verma defeated BJP’s Pratima Bagri by 12,290 votes (2018 polls: Cong won by 17,421 votes)

  • Madhya Pradesh Congress MLA Murli Morwal’s son booked for rape continues to evade arrest

    By PTI

    INDORE: The rape accused son of a Madhya Pradesh Congress MLA continued to elude the police despite the reward on his arrest being increased from 15,000 to 25,000, officials said on Friday.

    Karan Morwal, son of MLA Murli Morwal, was booked on April 2 after a woman alleged that she was raped by him on the pretext of marriage, they said.

    The increase in the reward money for information leading to Karan Morwal’s arrest from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 was announced by MP home minister Narottam Mishra on Wednesday.

    While Deputy Inspector General Manish Kapooria told PTI that different teams were looking for the accused and were hopeful of arresting him soon, other officials said his younger brother, Shivam, was questioned on Tuesday.

    Eye-witnesses said MLA Murli Morwal reached Palasia police station, adjacent to the women’s police station where the case was lodged, during the day but refused to answer queries of the media on the rape case as well as the purpose of his visit.

  • Major jolt to MP Congress in tribal bastion as ex-minister Sulochana Rawat, son join BJP ahead of by-poll

    By Express News Service

    BHOPAL: Opposition Congress suffered a jolt just four weeks before the October 30 parliamentary and assembly by-polls in Madhya Pradesh, as party’s former MLA Sulochana Rawat and son Vishal Rawat joined the ruling BJP on Saturday late night.

    The development came as a major setback to the party’s prospects in the by-poll to Jobat-ST assembly constituency, which is among the three assembly seats up for by-poll on October 30.

    Sulochana Rawat was a minister in the Digvijaya Singh-led erstwhile Congress government in the state two decades back. He had won the Jobat seat in 1998 and 2008, while son Vishal contesting on Congress ticket had lost from the seat in 2013 to BJP’s Madho Singh Dabar. He finished third behind Congress rebel candidate with over 30,000 votes in the 2018 polls.

    Importantly, the Jobat-ST seat of Alirajpur district has been won by the Congress 11 times, losing only four times since 1951. The powerful Rawat family had successfully contested the seat 9 times, including Sulochana Rawat after her father in law Ajmer Singh — who won the seat seven times in a row between 1967 and 1993. 

    Sulochana Rawat and son Vishal joined the BJP in Bhopal at around 11.30 pm on Saturday after around six hours marathon meeting with saffron party’s top brass in the state, including state CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and state party chief VD Sharma.

    The mother-son duo attributed tribal development and welfare centric recent announcements by the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government to have prompted their switchover from Congress to BJP. But an audio clip of Vishal Rawat purportedly talking to one of his supporters over the phone about the change of party, suggested that he along with ex-minister mother joined the saffron party following an assurance from top BJP leadership of ruling party ticket in the Jobat by-poll.

    However, when asked by scribes at a press conference at state BJP HQ about whether Sulochana Rawat or Vishal Rawat will be fielded by the BJP in the October 30 by-poll, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan smilingly replied, “you’ll be informed about it soon.”

    As per informed sources, it is union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who is behind the mother-daughter duo’s joining the saffron party, which was clearly revealed by the presence of Scindia loyalist cabinet minister Rajvardhan Singh Dattigaon in the evening. Sulochana Rawat has in the past being seen as a Kamal Nath’s loyalist.

    Though Shivraj Singh Chouhan was present at the duo’s BJP joining and also at party’s press conference at state party HQ on Sunday, it’s believed that he is in favour of BJP fielding ex-MLA Nagarsingh Chouhan’s wife Anita Nagarsing Chouhan from Jobat seat.

    According to informed sources in Alirajpur district, the district Congress chief Mahesh Patel (whose brother Mukesh Patel is Congress MLA from Alirajpur seat) is the frontrunner for Congress ticket from Jobat seat and was opposed to Sulochana or her son Vishal being fielded by the party. He would have fielded a rebel candidate had Sulochana or Vishal been given the Congress ticket.

    Knowing well that Congress would deny by-poll candidature to them, Sulochana Rawat and Vishal Rawat joined the BJP.

    Three assembly seats — Jobat-ST, Prithvipur and Raigaon-SC will be up for by-poll along with by-election to Khandwa-Burhanpur Lok Sabha seat on October 30. The by-elections to the three assembly seats and one LS seat were necessitated by death of sitting MLAs and MP. While two of three seats (Jobat-ST and Prithvipur) were held by Congress, the ruling BJP held the Raigaon-SC and Khandwa-Burhanpur seats.

  • Shivraj Singh Chouhan govt to use battery of top advocates to get MP High Court’s nod for 27% OBC reservation

    By Express News Service

    BHOPAL: With the opposition Congress trying hard to corner Shivraj Singh Chouhan government over inability to get the High Court to stay on hike in OBC reservation vacated, the Madhya Pradesh government reiterated on Thursday, its commitment to 13% hike in OBC reservation (14% to 27%) in government jobs and admission to institutes of higher education.

    The chief minister chaired a meeting of the ruling BJP’s OBC cell, comprising OBC ministers and MLAs in Bhopal on Thursday evening. The marathon meeting which continued for over three hours decided to press for the final hearing of the writ petition in the MP High Court in March 2019, challenging the decision to provide 27% reservation to OBC in government jobs and institutes of higher education in the state.

    “On the next date of hearing in the matter, the state’s advocate general and top advocates, including country’s solicitor general Tushar Mehta and Ravishankar Prasad will plead the HC for final hearing in the matter and allow 27% reservation to the OBC,” senior cabinet minister Bhupendra Singh said after the meeting.

    Blaming the erstwhile Kamal Nath-led Congress government for the prolonged issue, Singh said, “the previous government enacted a drama of hiking OBC reservation quota before the Lok Sabha polls on March 8, 2019. Two days later, a writ petition challenging the ordinance was filed before the HC, on which the HC through an interim order stayed the hike on March 19. On March 19, the state advocate general submitted before the court that the government wanted only 14% OBC reservation in the Public Service Commission related appointments. Also, the then state government didn’t put forward its stand in the matter subsequently, as no counsel representing the then state government appeared before the court in the matter for a year or appealed against HC’s interim stay.”

    “Our government led by Shivraj Singh Chouhan is committed to 27% OBC reservation and has been strongly putting its stand before the HC. On the next date of hearing, our top advocates will argue for allowing 27% reservation to OBC through final hearing in the matter. We’ll work both on the court’s as well as government level for the OBC reservation,” the minister said.

    “The commitment of our government to OBC welfare is best exemplified by a separate ministry for backward caste welfare,” he maintained.

    Importantly, the four-day monsoon session of MP Vidhan Sabha was adjourned sine die on the second day only on August 10, after the opposition Congress’s OBC MLAs who wore black aprons to the House, created uproar in the Assembly, accusing the BJP government of doing nothing concrete for 27% OBC reservation in the state.

    With the OBCs forming around 56% of MP’s population, the Congress is particularly trying to corner the BJP government over the issue, keeping an eye on the coming by-elections to three assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat, whose dates are yet to be finalized by the Election Commission.

    Importantly, all three BJP CMs in the state since 2003, including Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Uma Bharti and Babulal Gaur have been powerful OBC leaders.

    On March 8, 2019 the Kamal Nath government with an eye on Lok Sabha polls, had decided to hike the 14% existing OBC quota in government jobs and admissions to institutions of higher education in the state to 27% through an ordinance.

    Just two days later, medical PG course aspirants had moved the HC seeking stay against the operation of the ordinance. Nine days later on March 19, 2019, the HC had through an interim order stayed the operation of the ordinance.

    The final hearing in the matter will reportedly take place in the MP High Court in the first week next month. 

  • Cops use water cannons as Congress workers oppose land for RSS affiliate in Madhya Pradesh

    By PTI
    BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh government’s decision to allot land in an industrial estate to an RSS affiliate associated with small industries prompted the opposition Congress to stage a protest under senior leader Digvijaya Singh here on Sunday wherein police used water cannons.

    The incident occurred when Singh, a Rajya Sabha MP, and other Congress workers were trying to climb on a barricade during the protest held at Govindpura industrial area, officials said. Police have filed a case against Singh and eight other Congress leaders along with 200 workers of the party for organising a protest without prior permission and violating COVID-19 rules.

    “Police used water cannons but we will continue to fight against the land allotment till the association of Industrial area is with us. The water got into my ears,Congre” Singh told reporters. He alleged Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had given this land worth crores to the Laghu and Madhyam Udyog Bharti at the rate of Re 1 despite opposition from the Industrial Association.

    “This is the only park where workers take their lunch and rest,” Singh said.

    The former chief minister said the Govindpura industrial estate was developed for ancillary units of the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) in Bhopal. “The park land in the estate is being allotted to this organisation without changing the land title and securing due permissions. 95 per cent of the industrialists are opposed to the land allotment to this body,” he said.

    “I, CM Chouhan, former CM Babulal Gaur had planted saplings in this park,” Singh recalled.

    Eyewitnesses said a heated argument broke out between Singh and Bhopal DIG Irshad Wali during the demonstration in the presence of police personnel. When Singh said the Congress will demolish the foundation stone on the allotted land, Wali is heard saying the police will keep an eye on him, they said.

    District Collector Avinash Lavania told Singh that the work at the allotted land is allowed only after securing necessary legal permissions including from the Industry Department. Reacting to the Congress” protest, Madhya Pradesh Medical Education Minister Vishvas Sarang said the upcoming project of the Laghu Udyog Bharati will provide skill development and create jobs.

    “This land was allotted to the Laghu Udyog Bharti after considering all the aspects,” he told reporters.

    Sarang said contrary to the claims made by Singh, no industrialist was seen during Saturday’s protest. “Digvijaya Singh is always opposed to every new creation and brings negativity into every positive thing.

    The youths will be prepared for employment. Digvijaya Singh was CM for ten years but instead of giving jobs, he deprived the daily wagers of their employment. He is now feeling bad when something new is created,” Sarang alleged. Congress leader and former Union minister Arun Yadav condemned the use of force by police against the party workers and Singh.

    “The BJP regime allotted the land to an organisation affiliated to the RSS. Police used force when Congress workers staged a protest. The CM should take action against erring officials,” Yadav demanded. Ashoka Garden police station in-charge Alok Shrivastava told PTI that police filed cases against eight leaders including Digvijaya Singh, MLA PC Sharma, Vibha Patel and others, besides 200 party workers.

    “These leaders were booked under sections 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 269 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 147 (rioting) of the Indian Penal Code,” he said. Shrivastava said only water cannons were used to disperse the protestors and no excessive force was used during the protest.

  • Congress block president shot dead in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur

    By ANI
    CHHATARPUR (Madhya Pradesh): Indra Pratap Singh Parmar, block president of Congress party, died in hospital after he was shot at by unidentified people in Malhara of Chhatarpur on Tuesday.

    Lokendra Singh, Superintendent of Police said, “He was shot after which he was admitted to a hospital in Chhatarpur and later died. Further investigation is on.”

    Deepti Pandey, a Congress leader, said, “A visual from a CCTV camera of a hotel nearby the crime spot shows two persons on a bike talking to the victim while two persons on a red bike approach from behind and shoot him.”

    Further details are awaited.