Bhopal:

Underlining the need for civility in political discourse, veteran Congress leader Digvijaya Singh counselled Kartikey Chouhan, son of Shivraj Chouhan, to avoid intemperate language against political opponents. 

“If a Congress MLA accidentally wins here, not even a single brick will be laid in anyone’s village, you all should understand this,” said Junior Chouhan, campaigning for Budhni assembly seat by-election, sparking a row. 

Budhni assembly seat is the bastion of Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and it got vacant after he got elected as Member of Parliament (MP) from Vidisha constituency in the recently concluded general election 2024.

Sharing the Junior Chouhan’s speech video, the veteran Congress leader urged him to learn from his father.

“Kartikey, don’t give such speeches from now on. Learn from your father Shivraj Singh Chouhan. In a democracy, both the government and the opposition cooperate together in building the nation. I was the Chief Minister for 10 years but I never used this type of language,” Mr Singh posted on X.

“Your father is a witness to it. In the Panchayat Raj Act, the responsibility of construction work is of the Sarpanch and not the MLA. And you are neither a Sarpanch nor an MLA right now. You are like my grandson. This is my opinion. You may believe it or not, is up to you,” Mr Singh added. 

Reacting to Congress leader’s comment, Junior Chouhan doubled down on his remarks. 

“I respect Digvijaya Singh as a senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister. It’s fortunate that he follows my statements so closely. But he only instills fear. People of Budhni remember his government’s failures, which led to the state’s downfall. We wanted to learn from him, but his 10-year rule offered us nothing.”

In the short video clip, addressing a public meeting in Sehore district, Kartikey Chouhan is heard saying, “If any problems happen in the election then who will suffer? Why should we get into the hot water? Why should we spoil our reputation by making mistakes in the polling? Don’t we need to go to the Chief Minister and our Agriculture Minister for work? If any problem happens, then with what face will we go to our leaders to get the work done?”

केंद्रीय मंत्री @ChouhanShivraj जी को बुधनी ने खूब प्यार दिया, जहाँ से विधायक बनकर वे 16 साल CM रहे। उसी बुधनी की देवतुल्य जनता को उनके पुत्र धमका रहे हैँ कि कांग्रेस जीती तो कृषि मंत्री से कोई एक ईंट भी नहीं लगवा पायेगा। समझ में नहीं आता वोटर्स को धमकाने वाले जीतते कैसे हैँ ? pic.twitter.com/Rix4pB4DY5

— Yogendra Singh Parihar (@Yogendra_INC) October 24, 2024

Vijaypur assembly seat in Sheopur district and Budhni seat in Sehore district will undergo by-poll next month on November 13.

New Delhi:

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor will head the parliamentary standing committee on external affairs and veteran leader Digvijaya Singh will head the panel on education, party sources said on Thursday. 

Former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi will lead the parliamentary standing committee on agriculture and Koraput MP Saptagiri Ulaka will head the panel on rural development.

Mr Channi, who is a Dalit, and Ulaka, who hails from a tribal community, were chosen by the party with social justice being the centrepiece of all recent appointments.

The leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has been stressing the participation of the deprived sections in governance and calling for the party organisation to be more inclusive.

The sources said the Congress has forwarded the names of the four leaders to head the four department-related parliamentary standing committees it has been assigned to lead.

While there has been no official notification on the chairship of the parliamentary standing committees, it is expected to come out soon.

The Congress will chair the Department Related Standing Committee on External Affairs; Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food Processing; Rural Development and Panchayati Raj in the Lok Sabha; and Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports in the Rajya Sabha.

This was decided after hectic parleys between the government and the opposition over the panels’ chairship.

Congress’ chief whip in the Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh and the party’s deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi were involved in the negotiations with the government to arrive at a consensus.

Significantly, the Congress will chair the crucial committee on external affairs after a gap of five years. Tharoor had also headed the panel on external affairs between September 2014 and May 2019.

In the previous Lok Sabha, the Congress held the chairship of two department-related standing committees in the Rajya Sabha and one in the Lok Sabha.

While Mr Ramesh headed the committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Abhishek Singhvi chaired the panel on Commerce. Mr Tharoor headed the Committee on Chemicals and Fertilisers in the Lok Sabha.

Mr Ramesh will this time be a member of the Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, a panel he headed last time.
Talks had been going on for quite some time over the chairship of the department-related standing committees, with the government and opposition bargaining hard over control of key committees such as external affairs, defence, finance and home.

Department-related standing committees deal with various Union ministries and scrutinise their budgetary allocations and bills introduced in Parliament.

They also recommend the government to bring bills and make policies on important issues.

The Congress already has K C Venugopal as chairperson of the key Public Accounts Committee. While a majority of the standing committees come under the Lok Sabha Secretariat, some are serviced by the Rajya Sabha.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bhopal:

Veteran Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Tuesday filed a petition in the Madhya Pradesh High Court alleging irregularities in the Lok Sabha elections in Rajgarh, where he lost to BJP’s Rodmal Nagar by a margin of 1,46,089 votes.

Digvijaya Singh’s office told IANS that in his petition, the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister has highlighted the sequences of how the irregularities occurred, alleging that election norms were not followed in the constituency.

During campaigning, Mr Singh had sought support from the people saying that it was the last election he was contesting.

Mr Singh had earlier accused the returning officer of not complying with the directives of the Election Commission of India (ECI).

The Congress was expecting to win at least three to five Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, including Rajgarh and Chhindwara, which used to be the bastion of former Chief Minister Kamal Nath. However, the grand old party drew a blank as the BJP swept all the 29 seats in the state.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Gwalior:

A special court in Gwalior on Tuesday acquitted Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh in a 2019 defamation case filed against him for his alleged remarks that BJP/RSS workers were spying for Pakistan.

Special judicial magistrate Mahender Saini, presiding over the MP-MLA court, acquitted the former Chief Minister, a Rajya Sabha member, of the charge levelled against him under IPC section 500 (defamation).

“…invocation of the offence u/s 500 IPC does not merit acceptance,” said the court in its order.

The complainant has “failed to prove that the accused (Singh), through his statements on BJP/RSS workers, has defamed them. Hence, accused Digvijaya Singh is acquitted of the charge,” said the judge.

The case was filed against Singh by an advocate, Awdhesh Bhadoria.

“The court found that the facts against Singh in the case were false and acquitted him,” the Congress leader’s advocate Sanjay Shukla told reporters.

The court, in its order, cited exception 9 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 499 (imputation made in good faith by person for protection of his or other’s interests), said Shukla.

The exception says it is not defamation to make an imputation on the character of another provided that the imputation be made in good faith for the protection of the interests of the person making it, or of any other person, or for the public good.

The complainant failed to prove that he (Bhadoria) is a member of the RSS or BJP, said Shukla.

The lawyer said the complaint was filed just to ensure that the issue (controversial remarks) remains a matter of discussion among members of the public.

Addressing a press conference in Bhind on August 31, 2019, Mr Singh had alleged that BJP/RSS workers were involved in spying for Pakistan.

Mr Bhadoria later told reporters that he will file an appeal against the MP-MLA court judgment in the Madhya Pradesh High Court after studying it.

He claimed the court accepted that Mr Singh had given such a statement though it does not amount to defamation.

The 77-year-old Congress veteran welcomed the judgement.

“The decision of the court is acceptable to me. The court has acquitted me. A total of 6 (defamation) cases were filed against me. Now, five are pending. Two by the RSS and two by Owaisi’s AIMIM (Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi’s party) and one by (yoga guru) Baba Ramdev,” said the former CM.

“If I say the truth then it hurts, but ultimately the truth prevails,” Mr Singh remarked, referring to the defamation cases against him.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

A day after Congress leader Digvijaya Singh slammed Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for organising ‘kanya puja’ at his home, the BJP leader hit back and said that the veteran has “stooped too low” by making a demeaning remark. 

Shivraj Singh Chauhan had organised ‘kanya puja’ at his home in Bhopal yesterday – the last day of Navratri.

While talking to reporters yesterday, Digvijay Singh called Mr Chouhan’s move “dramatic.” ” Let’s not talk about the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, I have not seen a person who is more dramatic than him.”

Lashing out at Digvijaya Singh, Mr Chouhan today said that those who call women “items” can not understand his gesture. “I worship daughters. I wash the feet of daughters and sisters. Digvijaya ji, you have stooped too low in your fight against the Sanatana Dharma,” he said on X – formerly known as Twitter.

He asked Congress Chief Mallikarun Kharge and former party president Sonia Gandhi to clarify their stand on ‘kany puja’. “I ask Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, are you against ‘kanya puja’. Please clarify your stand,” he said.

बेटियों की पूजा, सनातन संस्कार है।

कल पूरा देश बेटियों की पूजा कर रहा था, पाँव पखारे जा रहे थे, कन्या भोज कराये जा रहे थे और मैंने भी की; मैं प्रतिदिन बेटियों की पूजा करता हूँ।

मैं बहन, बेटियों के पाँव पखारकर उस जल को माथे से लगाता हूँ, जिसमें पवित्र भाव हो, भारतीय संस्कार… pic.twitter.com/tktqbCsHyu

— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) October 24, 2023

More than 300 girls were present for ‘kanya puja’ celebrations at Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s home yesterday.

“Today I am very happy that the girls have come here and we see goddesses in them. In Indian culture, the status of daughter, sister and woman has always been very high. Where the women are respected, God resides there.”

Mr Chouhan and his wife showered flower petals on girls, washed their feet and served food to them.

Bhopal:

Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh on Monday asserted his party colleague Kamal Nath wanted to have an alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) for the next month’s Madhya Pradesh assembly polls “with full honesty”, but maintained he does not know how the talks for a tie-up between the two INDIA bloc members got derailed.

Digvijaya Singh praised SP president Akhilesh Yadav for his leadership qualities, but disagreed with Mr Nath, the Madhya Pradesh Congress head, over his choice of words while dismissing his (Yadav’s) criticism for not leaving any seat in MP for the Uttar Pradesh-based party for the November 17 polls.

The former CM said he had suggested Mr Nath to leave four assembly seats for the SP, which wanted to field nominees in half a dozen segments.

Talking to reporters at his residence in Bhopal, he sought to downplay the war of wards between the Congress and the SP that erupted after the national outfit did not allocate any assembly seat to the Yadav-led party despite the two being constituents of the INDIA alliance.

“It is okay… friendly fights do take place between alliance partners, but I know the SP and Akhilesh will never go with the BJP,” said the Rajya Sabha member.

After the SP president slammed the Congress leadership last week for not having an alliance in Madhya Pradesh, Mr Nath, while replying to questions from media persons on the tie-up issue, had reportedly said, “Chhodiye Akhilesh Vakhilesh” (just leave Akhilesh).

Digvijaya Singh disapproved of Kamal Nath’s dismissal of Mr Yadav’s criticism.

“I don’t know how he (Nath) said so. One should avoid such reactions about a leader of the (INDIA) alliance,” he said.

The Rajya Sabha member maintained there a discussion within the Congress over having a tie-up with the SP for the polls to the 230-member assembly.

The SP has released its own lists of candidates for more than two dozen seats.

Digvijaya Singh said “Nath had sent Congress leader Ashok Singh to me for a discussion with SP leaders led by Deep Narayan Yadav. We had a discussion in this room (of his residence in Bhopal). They (SP) had won one seat Bijawar (in Bundelkhand region in 2018 polls) and were second in two others. The SP wanted six seats, but I suggested Nath to leave four seats for the SP.

“Later, the matter went to the Congress Working Committee and the party’s central leadership, but they left the issue of (tie-up with SP) to the state leadership.” Digvijaya Singh said the INDIA grouping will contest the next Lok Sabha polls unitedly, but maintained issues related to state elections are different.

“I don’t know where this talk (of alliance in MP) got derailed. But as far as Nath is concerned, I can say he wanted to have an alliance with the SP with full honesty (Kamal Nath ji poori imandar is samjhouta karna chahta the),” he said.

The Congress veteran recalled his strong bonding with SP patriarch and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister the late Mulayam Singh Yadav.

When pointed out that posters of Akhilesh Yadav as future Prime Minister were displayed in Lucknow, Mr Singh feigned ignorance about the matter.

Answering a question over the Congress fielding sitting MLA from Pichhore KP Singh from Shivpuri, part of the home turf of Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Rajya Sabha MP said his party colleague was a popular leader and also his relative.

Asked whether this was done to prevent Scindia from contesting from Shivpuri on a BJP ticket, Digvijaya Singh said, “Definitely. He (Scindia) ran away as he was scared (to face KP Singh).” Sitting BJP MLA from Shivpuri and state minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia, an aunt of Jyotiraditya Scindia, has opted out of contesting elections due to her ill health.

Earlier, Digvijaya Singh had publicly disapproved of Mr Nath’s “tear clothes” remarks made in context of distribution of poll tickets, during an event organised to release the Congress manifesto last week.

A video of Mr Nath, where he is asking party men to “tear clothes” of his colleague Singh over denial of ticket to a leader from Shivpuri, fuelled talks of a rift in the party over selection of nominees.

In the viral video, Mr Nath is heard telling a group of people, said to be supporters of party leader Virendra Raghuvanshi, that he had left the issue of (selection of Raghuvanshi’s seat) to Digvijaya Singh and his MLA-son Jaivardhan Singh.

The state Congress president is then heard telling the group to “tear clothes” of Digvijaya Singh (over the ticket denial issue).

Mr Raghuvanshi, a former BJP legislator, joined the Congress earlier this month. He had sought a Congress ticket from the Shivpuri assembly seat, but the party fielded KP Singh, a six-time MLA from Pichhore, from there.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Gwalior:

Latching on to Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath’s “tear clothes” jibe at his party colleague Digvijaya Singh, Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Wednesday the voters of the poll-bound state will not allow such leaders to form government.

Mr Scindia, who quit the Congress and joined the BJP in March 2020, said the opposition party’s manifesto for the November 17 assembly polls has a long list of promises but none of them are going to be fulfilled.

A viral video of Mr Nath where he is asking Congress workers to “tear clothes” of his colleague Digvijaya Singh over denial of ticket to a leader from Shivpuri fuelled talks of a rift in the party over selection of nominees. However, both the former CMs sought to make light of the episode and put up a united face ahead of the polls and attended the Congress’s manifesto release function on Tuesday.

Asked about Mr Nath’s comment and the controversy generated by the viral video, Mr Scindia said the Congress wants to tear down everything.

The BJP Rajya Sabha MP said his own thinking is to work for people’s development and strengthen his party’s organization.

“If Congress leaders are talking like this, what will happen to the people of Madhya Pradesh if they get power? But I believe the people will not allow this to happen,” Mr Scindia said.

He took a dig at the Congress manifesto, saying its easy to prepare the pre-poll document but the party will not be able to fulfil the promises made in it.

In its 106-page manifesto, the Congress has listed 59 promises and 101 “main guarantees”. Key promises include conducting a caste survey, 27 per cent reservation to the OBCs, a farm loan waiver, Rs 25 lakh medical insurance for all residents and an IPL team for MP if voted to power.

The Congress “ruined” the state in its 15-month rule (December 2018 to March 2020) and the people will not forgive the opposition party and its two senior leaders (Digvijaya Singh and Nath), he said.

On contesting elections from his home turf Gwalior, the Union minister said he is an ordinary BJP worker and follows the party’s directives.

In the viral video that surfaced on Tuesday, Nath is heard telling a group of people, said to be supporters of party leader Virendra Raghuvanshi, that he had left the issue of (selection of Raghuvanshi’s seat) to Digvijaya Singh and his MLA-son Jaivardhan Singh which might have caused some confusion.

The state Congress president is then heard telling the group to “tear clothes” of Digvijaya Singh (over the ticket denial issue).

Raghuvanshi, a former BJP legislator, joined the Congress earlier this month. He had sought a Congress ticket from the Shivpuri assembly seat, but the party fielded KP Singh, a six-time MLA from Pichhore, from there.

On Tuesday, both Nath and Digvijaya Singh were seen together at the release of the Congress manifesto in the state capital and they talked about the video’s content in a lighter vein.

As the BJP latched on to the video to target the Congress, Nath clarified that the relations between Digvijaya Singh and him are not merely political.

“It is of love. I have given the power of attorney long back to him (Digvijaya), which was for listening abuses for Kamal Nath. This power of attorney is still valid,” Nath had said jokingly.

Polling for the 230 assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh, where the Congress and the BJP are engaged in a direct fight, will be held in a single phase and votes will be counted on December 3. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bhopal:

The video of an on-stage banter between Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh has emerged as a big talking point in Madhya Pradesh, with the BJP calling it a sign of infighting and Congress leaders saying the video just captures a light moment between two veterans.

अंतर्कलह से जूझ रही कांग्रेस की कपड़ा फाड़ प्रतियोगिता!

मध्य प्रदेश कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष करप्शननाथ और राज्यसभा सांसद Mr. बंटाधार भरे मंच पर एक-दूसरे से भिड़े… pic.twitter.com/nkD4a1dp2t

— BJP Madhya Pradesh (@BJP4MP) October 17, 2023

The video is from an event during which the Congress’s Madhya Pradesh unit released its manifesto for the November 17 election. The polls in the BJP-ruled state are expected to be a close contest as the Congress pushes hard for a victory.

कमल नाथ जी से मेरे पारिवारिक रिश्ता १९८० से है। हमारे बीच में कई बार कई मुद्दों पर मतभेद रहे है। दो मित्रों में मतभेद होना स्वाभाविक ही है लेकिन मनभेद नहीं रहे। एमपी कांग्रेस के घोषणा पत्र के समय मेरे और कमल नाथ जी के बीच का मज़ाक़िया संवाद। अवश्य सुनिए।⁦@INCIndia⁩ ⁦ pic.twitter.com/vpc7454N45

— digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) October 17, 2023

Kamal Nath is the state Congress president and the face of the party’s Assembly poll campaign. Mr Singh, a former Chief Minister, is a Rajya Sabha MP and one of the tallest leader of the Congress in Madhya Pradesh.

In the video, Mr Nath is heard saying that when he was asked to “tear Digvijaya Singh’s clothes for not fulfilling promises”, he had replied that the people should do so if their concerns are not heard.

Mr Singh, who was on the stage, intervened and said the party’s documents are signed by the state Congress chief. “Then whose clothes should be torn?” he asked as party leaders laughed.

Responding, Mr Nath said his relationship with Mr Singh is not political. “It is a relationship of jokes and laughs, of love. Long back, I had given him a power of attorney that he will face verbal abuses for me. That power of attorney is still valid,” he said.

At this, Mr Singh responded, “But people should know who is making mistakes”. “Whether it is your mistake or not, you will face abuses,” Mr Nath said, amid cheers and claps from other leaders.

The state Congress chief reiterated that he and Mr Singh go back a long way. “As I said, it is not a political relationship. It is a family relationship.”

Mr Singh quipped, “He is basically saying, Lord Shiva’s job is to drink poison. Fine, I will drink it.”

As soon as the video circulated on social media, the BJP said infighting in the Congress has come out in the open. “A contest to tear clothes within infighting-hit Congress,” the BJP said in a post on X, adding that the state Congress chief and Rajya Sabha MP were fighting in the open.

Soon after, Mr Singh put out a post on X, saying he and Mr Nath go back a long way. “I have a family relationship with Kamal Nath since 1980. We have had differences on several issues. It is natural for two friends to have differences of opinion, but we have never had a difference of heart,” he said, sharing a video of the banter and requesting people to watch it.

Mumbai:

The Thane Magistrate Court has issued a summons to Congress MP Digvijaya Singh for his alleged defamatory social media post against Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Madhav Sadashivrao Golwalkar.

The defamation case was filed by an RSS worker from Thane Vivek Champanerkar and Mr Singh has been asked to appear before the court on November 20.

Golwalkar was the second Sarsanghchalak (or head) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He is considered one of the most influential and prominent figures among Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh by his followers.

Earlier, an FIR was lodged against Digvijaya Singh in Indore’s Tukoganj Police Station over his alleged remark on Golwalkar.

Digvijaya Singh was booked under sections 153A, 469, 500 and 505 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), an official had said.

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh on July 8 tweeted a poster, which he captioned, “Do you know what Guru Golwalkar ji’s thoughts were for the Dalits, backwards and Muslims and on the right on national water, forest and land?”

In the tweet, Golwalkar was quoted as saying that he would rather live under British rule than have equal rights given to Dalits, backwards and Muslims.

In his reply to Digvijaya Singh on X, formerly Twitter, senior RSS official Sunil Ambekar said, “In the context of Shri Golwalkar Guruji, this tweet is factless and is going to create social disharmony. This false photoshopped picture has been put up with the aim of tarnishing the image of the Sangh. Shri Guruji never said such a thing. His whole life was engaged in ending social discrimination.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)