Highlights
- Digvijaya Singh seen jostling with police in Bhopal
- MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan condemned Singh's act
- BJP claims to have won president post in 41 district panchayats, Cong puts its tally at 10
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Friday entered into a scuffle with Police personnel here and held one of them by their collar. A video showing Singh, a former chief minister, in a heated argument with police personnel while allegedly seeking to stop a woman voter from entering the premises of the district Panchayat office went viral.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan condemned Singh's act saying, "He (Digvijaya Singh) holds a policeman by his collar. I want to ask Sonia Gandhi whether she supports this? Has Rahul Gandhi asked to do so?The kind of politics Congress is doing in the state has never happened. I condemn it." Hitting back, CM Chouhan said Digvijaya's behaviour with the policeman did not befit the stature of a former chief minister. Such "arrogant acts" are a reflection of the fact that Congress is losing its base, the CM added.
Congress alleged "gross irregularities" during the election for president and vice-president of Bhopal Janpad Panchayat as senior party leader Digvijaya Singh and others clashed with police.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said candidates supported by it have won the post of president in 41 district panchayats, while the Congress claimed victory of its nominees in 10 such position across 51 districts of Madhya Pradesh. MP has 52 districts but in one Sidhi, the district panchayat elections did not take place following a High Court order.
State Congress president Kamal Nath, in a press statement, alleged the ruling BJP had misused the official machinery and also used money to influence the outcome.
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Singh later claimed that his objection was to BJP MLA Rameshwar Sharma entering the premises. Sharma and Urban Development Minister Bhupendra Singh had accompanied the woman voter. While Congress alleged that the woman was a Congress supporter but the BJP leaders pressurized her, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan condemned Digvijaya Singh's behaviour. Singh claimed in a statement later that as he was objecting to Rameshwar Sharma entering the premises along with the woman voter, the policemen on duty pushed him. “I was trying to stop police from pushing me and did not grab the collar of any policeman as alleged by Chief Minister Chouhan,” the Congress veteran said. While Chouhan alleged that he (Singh) pushed the gate of the collector's office, he never went to the collector's office during the day, Singh claimed.
Congress leader Suresh Pachori, a former Union minister, and party MLAs P C Sharma and Arif Masood were also present when Digvijaya, 75, and a policeman were seen pushing each other.
Also Read | Madhya Pradesh: BJP creates history in local polls, Congress' support base erodes further
