Communal tension in Chhatarpur, Khandwa and Bhopal

Communal tension is spreading to other parts of the state also. After Malwa region which has seen a spate of communal violence, the incidents in Chhatarpur, Bhopal and Khandwa on the same day, signal that something is seriously wrong.

At Chhatarpur, the Bajrang Dal, VHP and BJP leaders openly flouted the ban on public display of arms and fired in the air during the procession of Ram Navami that for the first time passed through Muslim localities of the town. Link to a story on Chhatarpur.

The Muslim community also took out a sort of procession ahead of Id Milad-un-Nabi and loud music was played when they passed the temple at Bus Stand. This caused a confrontation and a nearly 2,000 people from both sides resorted to attacking each other with stray objects. The police used tear gas and cane charged the mob.

However, the Milad-un-Nabi procession is scheduled on April 1 and there could be a display of arms in this procession as well. Though police has been called from three districts and top officials are camping there, the situation remains tense.

In Bhopal, a cow that got injured in an accident led to confrontation (Link). Rumours spread that a person belonging to other community attacked the animal. Stone pelting led to several persons getting injured in Barkhedi near Jehangirabad. Again, it was Bajrang Dal and VHP that was responsible. In Khandwa also there a violent clash during an auction that took a communal turn.

The state government appears helpless and unable to act tough against anti-socials and also Bajrang Dal members. It is said that groups within the BJP and the Uma Bharati's Bharatiya Jana Shakti may not be too unhappy with the scenerio.

By-poll results: Congress win Sidhi, BJP retain Gwalior

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has received a setback with the Congress win in Sidhi and the low margin with which Yashodhara Raje Scindia won in Gwalior. To its consolation it won the Udaipura assembly constituency easily. However, the message is clear that they shouldn't write off the Congress.

Sidhi Lok Sabha seat:
Congress wins. It's candidate Manik Singh defeats BJP's Kunwar Singh. Manik got 2.12 lakh votes while Kunwar Singh secured 2.11 lakh votes. The margin was merely 1586. Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP) chief Hira Singh Markam got 71,000 votes.BSP 42,000 SP 17,000. The campaign was led by Arjun Singh's son Rahul Bhaiya alias Ajay Singh. Arjun couldn't come for the campaigning owing to his ill health.

Gwalior Lok Sabha seat:
Here BJP's Yashodhara Raje Scindia defeated Congress' Ashok Singh by a margin of over 35,000 votes. It was the first occasion when a Scindia family member (Jyotiraditya Scindia) had campaigned against a familly member.

Udaipura Assembly seat where polls were held has been retained by BJP. Shashiprabha Singh defeated Congress candidate Sahab Singh by 19,079 votes. She got 52,544 votes and Sahib secured nearly 33,000. After Ram Pal Singh had resigned, the bypoll was held. Shashi Prabha is Ram Pal's wife.

The by-polls for the two Lok Sabha seats were necessitated after BJP MPs Ramsewak Singh and Chandrapratap Singh were expelled from the house after being accused in the 'cash-for-query' scam. The by-election in Udaipura was caused by the resignation of Rampal Singh, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Vidisha - a seat vacated by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Two Shrivastavas in charge of Culture

So two Shrivastavas, one an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and the other an officer of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) are holding the reins of culture in Madhya Pradesh.

IPS Pawan Shrivastava is Director, Culture.
IAS Manoj Shrivastava is Secretary, Culture.



The State government was already facing flak for pushing its agenda and Saffronising the institutions. First DP Sinha was made Chairman of Bharat Bhawan Trust followed by another RSS man Rameshwar Mishra Pankaj who has been posted as Trust Secretary.

The earlier Secretary Panka Raag was shifted due to pressure from RSS. Hema Malini is also in the Trust of Bharat Bhavan and so is Shani Gaur. Does the latter have any cultural background!