MP: Attack on Digvijaya Singh continues as other Congress leaders bicker

While Forest Minister Umang Singhar continued to scale up his allegations against former chief minister Digvijaya Singh, calling him a blackmailer, many ministers and leaders in the faction-ridden Congress engaged in shadow-boxing.

Singhar alleged that Digvijaya was blackmailing the government with a few ministers and MLAs by his side, and promoting illegal sand mining and liquor business in the state. After his relentless attack on the senior Congress leader, Chief Minister Kamal Nath summoned Singhar in the evening.

The allegations prompted the Opposition BJP to allege that governance had come to naught in Madhya Pradesh, even as Congress general secretary in-charge of MP Deepak Bavaria warned party leaders and workers of disciplinary action if they go public with internal matters instead of raising them on party forum.

As Singhar continued to target Digvijaya — the minister’s late aunt Jamuna Devi was a bitter adversary of Digvijaya, in whose government she was the deputy CM — Law Minister P C Sharma accused him of seeking attention by targeting a big leader after having lagged behind in the race for the new Pradesh Congress Committee chief. Without referring to Jyotiraditya Scindia, who has staked claim for the PCC chief’s post, Sharma said the recent developments had probably convinced Singhar that he did not stand a chance for the post. Singhar had said that Digvijaya was a contender for the post.

Scindia, who arrived in Gwalior to an enthusiastic welcome by his supporters including Women and Child Development Minister Imarti Devi, steered clear of the controversy over the PCC chief’s post, saying he would leave the selection to party president Sonia Gandhi. When asked by reporters if he had threatened to quit the party if he was not made PCC chief, he said he would not react to speculation. He insinuated that illegal mining was still taking place in the state, but did not elaborate.

Imarti Devi said that she and other supporters want to see Scindia as PCC president, and that he should not back down.

Amid the bickering, former PCC chief and Union minister Arun Yadav tweeted, “I am pained by the developments over the last eight months after having struggled for last 15 years with honest party workers. Had I know things would pan out this way I would not have risked my life while waging a fight against poisonous and corrupt ideology.” He was PCC chief till April 2018 when the Congress replaced him with Kamal Nath, who still holds the post. Yadav shared some photographs of the protests against the BJP rule.