BJP MLA slams own govt, collector over ‘favouritism’, goes on dharna

Bhopal: Ambrish Sharma, first-time MLA from the governing BJP from the Lahar assembly segment in MP's Bhind district, opened a front against his own party and government on Sunday, as he sat on a dharna alleging that some Congress-leaning officials of the local administration were discriminating against the people of his constituency.Significantly, the sit-in came just a day after Chief minister Mohan Yadav shunted the district collector of Sidhi and the SP of Guna following negative public feedback, alleging administrative neglect.Sharma staged a sit-in with his supporters claiming, "(Some) Congress-minded officials are discriminating against the people of the assembly constituency." He said the primary objective of his protest was to draw the attention of chief minister and BJP state chief Hemant Khandelwal to Lahar, where people have been agitating over the last couple of years for the demolition of an alleged encroached portion of a building owned by former Leader of Opposition (LoP) and senior Congress leader, Govind Singh. He claimed to have already met CM Yadav and the BJP state chief, briefing them on the alleged discrimination of the officials concerned, but no action followed. He alleged that the electricity connection to a tribal village was disconnected allegedly at the behest of these officials. "People in my constituency are being singled out and tormented," the BJP MLA said, adding, "They are being harassed. Lahar mein Angrejon aur Mughalon ke tarah atyachar ho raha hai (Lahar is witnessing atrocities of the kind that took place under the Mughals and the British)."In a video that went viral on social media, the BJP legislator was purportedly heard saying, "Jab ek rakshas se 35 saal ladh sakte hain, toh officeron se kya darna (When we could fight a demon [a snide reference to the Congress) for 35 years, why should we fear their officials?" Addressing his followers during the sit-in protest at the Dussehra Maidan in Bhatan Tal, Lahar, Sharma issued a warning to the district officials concerned, saying, "Don't mistake our patience as weakness. Tum ek phunk ke bhi nahi ho, phukenge toh Pakistan jaakar giroge (You are not even worth a single puff, with one puff you will land in Pakistan)."However, both the government and the BJP state unit came out in defence of the MLA, saying he did nothing wrong even if threatened officials.Speaking to TOI, the spokesperson for the BJP's state unit, Ajay Singh Yadav, said, "This agitation is about a Congress leader, who is protecting the illegal mafia and our MLA is fighting against him. His complaint is only against a section of officials (who are allegedly Congress-leaning). We know how the Congress shields and patronises leaders linked with the mafia." The BJP claimed people from the Scheduled Caste community in Lahar have been up in arms against Govind Singh, a close ally of former chief minister Digvijaya Singh, for allegedly encroaching land, which is considered a pathway to some habitations and villages. The villages in the assembly segment have a predominant scheduled caste population. As Singh represented the constituency in the assembly for over three decades, 33 years to be precise, and was a minister in previous Congress governments led by Digvijaya and Kamal Nath, a section of the district police and administration continue to be close to him, the BJP alleged. Singh was elected MLA from Lahar assembly seat for seven consecutive terms — from 1990 to 2018. However, that was before Sharma, a greenhorn fighting under the ‘lotus' symbol, helped the BJP snap the BJP's run of losses from the seat in the 2023 assembly elections, winning it by a margin of 12,397 votes. Dismissing the charges by the BJP MLA, Congress state spokesman Mithun Ahirwar said, "Govind Singh is considered a senior and respected leader not just by the Congress but in the political arena. He was elected seven times by the people of Lahar. The charges levelled by the BJP MLA are not being taken seriously even by his government and party. The officials he is making the allegations against were posted by the BJP government. It seems he needs proper care at a mental hospital."