Politics

‘Autocratic’, ‘corrupt’ – How Scindia loyalists who targeted MP’s bureaucracy shook CM Chouhan

September 6, 2022
Bharat Times

New Delhi: A little more than a month after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lost With seven corporations under control in Madhya Pradesh’s municipal elections, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan himself has faced criticism from his own ministers as well as from party cadres in the state.

While Chouhan’s cabinet colleagues have been targeting him for “failing to restrain” the bureaucracy, they are targeting the state’s chief secretary and Chouhan’s trusted aide, IAS Iqbal Singh Bains.

BJP MLAs and ministers in the Chouhan government – Mahendra Singh Sisodia and Brajendra Singh Yadav – who hold rural development and public health portfolios respectively publicly accused One “autocratic:“(autocratic) administration.

Both Sisodia and Yadav are considered close to Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.

On Sunday, BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya – whose growing friendship with Scindia is no secret – also criticized the state bureaucracy for its “uncooperative attitude” at a meeting of the state BJP’s core group.

Sources said Vijayvargiya told BJP leaders at the meeting that bureaucrats in Madhya Pradesh are knee-deep in corruption and do not listen to the party’s cadre – suggesting that the party’s prospects in the municipal elections held in July were damaged. Is. ,

Responding to the allegation, CM Chouhan said that most of the officers do a good job and the issues regarding the works of a particular bureaucrat should be raised publicly behind closed doors. He advised party leaders to take up such issues directly on their own or with State BJP President VD Sharma or General Secretary (Organisation) Hitanand Sharma.

According to sources, Chouhan also assured his party colleagues that there will be a change in administration soon.

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‘Arbitrary use of power’

Last week, BJP MLA from Bamori in Guna district Mahendra Singh Sisodia wrote to Shivpuri district magistrate (DM) Akshay Kumar Singh requesting that Shivpuri superintendent of police (SP) Rajesh Singh Chandel be booked without transferring a police inspector. action should be initiated. Minister’s approval.

Sisodia is also the guardian minister of Shivpuri district.

His actions have caused great embarrassment to the ruling BJP after marking a copy of his letter to Scindia besides Rajesh Rajora, additional chief secretary (home) in the state government.

Sisodia wrote in his letter that the SP’s actions were not against the rules but tantamount to “arbitrary use of power”.

Interacting with the media at Guna, Sisodia on Saturday alleged that the state bureaucracy wasautocratic:(autocratic) – for which he attributed the Chief Secretary Bains.

Hours later, Ashok Nagar’s Mungawali MLA Brajendra Singh Yadav wrote to the Ashok Nagar district’s DM and commissioner of cooperative societies, demanding a probe into the alleged irregularities in the appointments.

The developments prompted the state BJP to enter ‘fire fighting’ mode and the CM summoned Sisodia. BJP sources told ThePrint that Chouhan told them not to reveal their grievances publicly and that he would look into the matter.

Speaking to the media on Friday, Sisodia Told that he was no longer concerned. “Everything is normal now and there is no point in talking about this issue,” he said.

When asked about the developments, Madhya Pradesh BJP general secretary Bhagwandas Sabnani told ThePrint, “The chief minister has asked the ministers concerned to address their grievances. Such complaints come in every government but it does not mean that someone is attacking the Chief Minister or undermining him.

Vijayvargiya-Scindia equation

Complaints against the state bureaucracy were again raised by senior party leader Kailash Vijayvargiya, a contemporary of Chouhan, at a meeting of the Madhya Pradesh BJP’s core group on Sunday.

But this was not the first time Vijayvargiya had questioned the CM’s “soft corner” for bureaucracy.

After the results of municipal elections in July, Vijayvargiya advised Chouhan to trust party workers as much as he trusted bureaucrats.

“Update of Voter Lists” [for municipal polls] is worrying. Whether it was done by the administration or the Election Commission, it should be probed. The Chief Minister has more faith in the officers. That is his nature. But such discrepancy could not have happened if he had relied on party workers equally,” Vijayvargiya reportedly said. Told A local media outlet.

Vijayvargiya’s flourishing friendship with Scindia in recent months has caused a stir in MP’s political circles for a variety of reasons.

Scindia also had to face defeat after the BJP’s mayoral candidate lost to the Congress mayoral candidate in the municipal elections in Scindia’s stronghold Gwalior.

The Union Minister for Civil Aviation and Steel, Scindia was seen joining Vijayvargiya for a meal at his residence in Indore in the last week of August.

Scindia on Saturday attended the annual awards ceremony of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association – of which he is the former president – in Indore. During this incident, Scindia requested Vijayvargiya, who was sitting in the front row, to join him on stage.

“There was a time when Scindia had ensured Vijayvargiya’s defeat in the MP Cricket Association elections. But things change in politics and this change is not one-sided. Scindia is contacting Vijayvargiya because he knows Vijayvargiya has an unmatched clout in Indore,” a state BJP leader told ThePrint on condition of anonymity.

“Both [these leaders] Eyes on his political future as he knows this could be Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s last term as Chief Minister. if he [Chouhan] is removed before the election, in his absence, there will be opportunities for all his rivals, who have been in the top post for so many years,” the leader said.

However, another MP BJP leader indicated that the Scindia-Vijayvargiya meet could be an attempt by Vijayvargiya to secure a place for his son in the MP Cricket Association with Scindia’s help. “Kailash” Yes Always wants to maintain its grip on the state cricket body. It should not be linked to the discussion about leadership change in the state,” the leader said.

(Edited by Amritansh Arora)

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