New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh, these days, is in the news for all the wrong reasons. Allegations of corruption, infighting and loudmouth ministers are plaguing the government of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, who has just completed a year as CM since he took over from Shivraj Singh Chouhan after the 2023 assembly election.
The recoveries of gold, cash, tiger and leopard skin, and the horns of a black deer from former BJP MLA Harvansh Singh Rathore’s residence, plus four crocodiles in his pond, have created a flutter.
Adding to the BJP’s misfortunes, the recoveries of 52 kg of gold and cash from a former constable with the transport department, Saurabh Sharma, and his diary have raised a political storm, with the Congress levelling corruption charges against the ruling BJP. Ex-CM Digvijay Singh has alleged that Saurabh Sharma operated under the protection of Jyotiraditya Scindia’s trusted man and MP Food and Civil Supplies Minister Govind Singh Rajput.
In another trouble for the BJP, MP Revenue Minister Karan Singh Verma’s public order to suspend a woman naib tehsildar has triggered a mass strike by tehsildars and naib tehsildars in the state. The suspended officer, however, was reinstated after an inquiry—ordered by the collector—gave her a clean chit.
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When contacted, BJP Madhya Pradesh state secretary Rajneesh Agrawal told ThePrint, “The party has a mechanism to address infighting and other issues. The party takes note of every incident when they crop up.”
‘Corruption’ in transport department
The whole saga started with an Innova abandoned on the outskirts of Bhopal. Inside the SUV, the police found bags of gold and cash, which the Income Tax Department eventually seized.
Following the discovery of the car, which allegedly belonged to the ex-RTO constable, the Lokayukta and the Enforcement Directorate raided Saurabh Sharma’s house, leading to the recovery of a diary, which shows entries of transactions worth Rs 1,500 crore.
Since then, Congress leaders—from Digvijay Singh to Jitu Patwari—have been charging the state’s Food and Civil Supplies Minister, Govind Singh Rajput, with shielding Saurabh Sharma and giving him a free hand during Rajput’s previous tenure as transport minister.
Also casting aspersions on Rajput is former BJP MP Bhuppendra Siingh, who has had a contentious relationship with Rajput.
“He was appointed in 2016…. Everyone knows who the mastermind of the case is. The truth will definitely be revealed before everyone. I am not taking any name, but the party knows who the kingpin is, and so do the investigating agencies,” Bhuppendra Siingh commented.
Before Rajput, Bhuppendra Siingh was the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government’s transport minister. Both men are from the Sagar district. Later, Mohan Yadav did not induct Chouhan’s once-close confidant, Siingh, as his minister.
Responding to Siingh, Govind Singh Rajput said, ”I can not comment on Bhupendra Siingh’s statement. He makes statements every day, and the party is watching everything.“
Amid this infighting, the Congress is attempting to corner the BJP. Speaking on the Saurabh Sharma case, Congress state president Jitu Patwari said, “Raids recovered Rs 100 crore assets, Rs 11 crore cash and 55 kg gold. There was also the mention of a diary…. This diary should come out in the public domain.”
“The diary accounted for Rs 50 crore over five months. Six pages of the diary have surfaced, explaining where the money came from and where it went. ‘TM’ and ‘TC’ are written on the pages of the diary. What are these? Is ‘TC’ the code word for transport commissioner and ‘TM’ transport minister?” Jitu Patwari asked.
He also asked where the remaining 60 pages had gone as the diary was 66 pages long, adding, “The people of Madhya Pradesh, the Opposition, and the media want to know where the money was going.”
Digvijay Singh asked whether Scindia was involved as he was the one who, during the short-lasting Kamal Nath’s government, wanted to give the transport portfolio to Rajput.
“When the Kamal Nath government was in the state, there was pressure from Jyotiraditya Scindia to give the transport and revenue department to Govind Singh Rajput. Only Scindia ji can tell why they wanted this. After this, our government constituted a board that decided where who would remain posted,” Digvijay Singh said.
”I am aware that when Shivraj Singh Chouhan became the chief minister again, Scindia ji pressured and got the board dissolved. Then, Govind Singh Rajput got the transport department,” he added.
Scindia made light of the charges, saying, ”When does Digvijay Singh not target me? Is this something new? Digvijay Singh’s life is gone, targeting me and my revered father. I have never targeted Raja Saheb. Even if I meet today, I only bow down. Whatever the ideology is, draw your line based on that. My ideology is to serve the people. That’s my target.”
Amid mounting pressure from the Opposition, Rajput defended himself, saying that he did not know every transport department staff and had nothing to do with Saurabh Sharma, ensuring that an investigation would fix guilt.
Open infighting between Bhuppendra Siingh and Govind Singh Rajput has been making a buzz for a long time. Without taking names, Rajput has, in the past, said that one BJP MLA had become larger than the party in the state, whereas Bhuppendra Siingh has called Rajput corruption kingpin.
“The infighting between two senior leaders is to establish hold in the Sagar district and prove supremacy. Bhuppendra Siingh has been vocal against Rajput. Under the new structure, after Scindia’s induction into the party, Govind Singh Rajput gained prominence and that has become the main point of trouble between the two,” a senior BJP leader in Madhya Pradesh said on the condition of anonymity. “The party has taken cognisance of the issue and has a mechanism to deal with such issues, but such statements embarrass the party. However, it is a stand-alone incident and shows the government’s resolve to fight corruption.”
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‘Tax evasion’ by former MLA
Rajput and Siingh are not alone in embarrassing the party publicly.
Early last Sunday, I-T officers, who descended on former Banda legislator Harvansh Singh Rathore’s residence in the Sagar district in 10 vehicles, were in for a surprise. They found not only 14 kg of gold, cash and luxury cars in his house but also crocodiles in his pond.
Apart from the BJP leader’s house, there were searches at the residences of his brother Kuldeep and former BJP corporator Rajesh Kesharwani. A beedi magnate, Harvansh Singh Rathore emerged as MLA from Banda in 2013. The Income-Tax Department suspect a tax evasion of over Rs 150 crore by the former legislator.
Harvansh Singh Rathore’s father, one of the early leaders in Sagar, was instrumental in the BJP’s growth in the district. Several big leaders have stayed in his home in the past. It is not clear whether the tax raids on his premises had links with the transport department case, but the raids have brought bad publicity for the party.
A state BJP vice-president, who did not want to be named, told ThePrint, “Many are surprised as the raids under this government have given ammunition to the Opposition. But, the real motive behind the income tax raids is anti corruption drive or fixing leader.”
Strike by revenue employees
Amid these controversies, Mohan Yadav’s revenue minister has attracted the ire of state-level revenue employees, with Madhya Pradesh-Rajasthan Adhikari Sangh, a union representing naib tehsildars and tehsildars, going on a three-day strike from 13 January. The association is protesting minister Karan Singh Verma’s public order to suspend a woman naib tehsildar during his 10 January visit to Sehore after a few villagers complained about the officer.
While addressing the crowd from a dais, Karan Singh Verma said, “Abhi Ashta mein ek tehsildar thi, ab Sehore mein aai hai. Meine keh diye unko bhaga denge bahar. (There was a tehsildar in Ashta; she is in Sehore now. I said: ‘We will remove you’.)”
Explaining the situation, he said, “I told her very politely: ‘You have taken money from the farmer, the remaining money he will also give, but at least, get his work done. The farmer went to her with the mobile phone in his pocket, and she said: ‘You went to the Mantri. Did he resolve your issue? Have you got the money?’ So, I suspended her. Such people are not worthy of being in the job.”
Speaking to ThePrint, Dharmendra Singh, president of MP-Rajasthan Adhikari Sangh, said the strike “was our way of sending a message to the government and the minister that this is not the appropriate way of responding to the situation”.
“A few days ago, a constable from the transport department was caught with gold and cash, but no one made such public statements on the issue. There is a mechanism set, and it needs to be followed,” he said.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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