Politics in MP heat up over Khargone violence

Bhopal, April 13

Amid the tensions following the clashes during the Ram Navami procession in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone district, the politics in the state has heated up with registering of an FIR against senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh.

Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh, who has held district administration and the police responsible for communal violence, has posted a photo showing a group of people hoisting saffron flag on a mosque. However, the photograph turned out to be a fake and subsequently, Singh's post from his twitter account was deleted.

State BJP leaders, including Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Home Minister Narottam Mishra called Singh's post a "conspiracy to spread communal violence in the state".

Taking it further, the state Home Minister said that action would be taken against Digvijaya Singh. Subsequently, an FIR was lodged against Singh in a Bhopal police station on Tuesday evening.

In response to FIR, Digvijaya Singh later on Tuesday evening wrote a letter to Bhopal Police Commissioner and as well as Shyamla Hills police station to register a complaint against Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for an old post on social media.

In the letter, Digvijaya Singh mentioned that Chouhan had shared a tampered video of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. "On May 19,2019, Shivaraj Singh Chouhan had shared a tampered video of the then Congress president Rahul Gandhi. This was an criminal offence by Chouhan and an action should be taken against him," he said in the letter.

The Congress leader has also shared that video with Bhopal police commissioner, said a party spokesman.

Meanwhile, actions by the police and the district administration against the rioters continued in Khargone, and around 100 people have been arrested so far. Over 50 buildings were also demolished till Tuesday evening.

However, the several Opposition parties have protested against the state government's bulldozer action, arguing that the any action without proper investigation would be injustice.

The state Home Minister, however, has justified the government's action saying those who can be seen on camera throwing stones are being punished. And the buildings which were demolished were illegal.