Madhya Pradesh minister tells tehsildar not to work for Congress sarpanchs

BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Congress on Saturday demanded the ouster of minister for agriculture development

Gauri Shankar Bisen

for openly threatening government employees with transfers if they “listened to Congress sarpanchs”.

“Gauri Shankar Bisen has lost his mental balance. The way he threatened tehsildars and told them not to work for

Congress sarpanchs

, directly challenges the honour of elected representatives in a democracy,” state

Congress chief spokesman KK Mishra

said. “Congress party demands the expulsion of this minister who is constantly in the news for controversies.”

The incident happened on Thursday late evening hours in Lalbarsh in Balaghat district. Gauri Shankar Bisen was addressing a public meeting during the foundation laying ceremony of the Krishi Upaj Mandi building.

“Suno Tehsildar Sahab. Hamare (BJP) Karikarta se rai lekar, kissi Congress ki sarpanch ka sunna nehin. Aur shikayat milegi toh wahan par bhej denge jahan se aye ho (Listen tehsildar Sahab. Our (BJP) workers should be consulted and do not listen to any Congress sarpanch. And if I receive complaints then I will send you back to the place where you came from),” the minister threatened.

Bisen also said no one needs to favour the Congress party anymore. “BJP will now rule for 50 years,” he said. He claimed that 3,000 poor families will receive grants of Rs 3 lakh each to construct their new homes. Thus he said, that the “ache din” promise made by BJP is being fulfilled. “We said ache din will come, has it come or no?” he asked the crowd. He instructed government officials not to allot any of the shops in the Krishi Upaj Mandi to persons connected to the Congress party.

“These shops should not be given to Congress activists. I have not taken any contact for the Congress party. Congress has become irrelevant, if I could I would shut-down the Congress party,” he claimed.

Gauri Shankar Bisen has been in the centre of controversies many times. In 2011, he had made a `patwari’ hold his ears on the dais in a public meeting and take squats before a cheering crowd.

In January 2012, he made a child tie his shoelaces while he sat on the dais in a public meeting. Just 15 days ago, Bisen claimed he has been saved from going to jail because a former district collector set alight all documents connecting the minister to alleged corruption. Congress is preparing to take both Bisen and the former district collector to Lokayukt for the burning of corruption records.

“In two days, the Congress party is going to Lokayukta to lodge a complaint against the minister and the district collector who destroyed evidence of his corrupt practices,” KK Mishra said.