Bhind collector Madhukar Agneya in controversy over comments on farmer's death

IAS officer Madhukar Agneya has landed in a controversy over his alleged comments about a farmer.

Congress released an audio recording of the conversation in which Agneya allegedly made light of farmer's suicide.

Agneya allegedly said that if someone has six children, then it is natural that he will have a pathetic life and would die.

The comment came at a time when farmers are committing suicides in the State due to rain and hail storm which affected the crop all over Madhya Pradesh.

Agneya said that the allegation was wrong and he didn't say anything like that. The Congress has attacked the collector for being insensitive towards the farmers.

The BJP is also not happy with the statement. Party chief Nandkumar Singh Chauhan has said that the comment was in a bad taste.

The lesson is that one should be careful about words even in a private conversation. Nothing is private in this era, as anything can be recorded.

Waqf officer accuses Minister Ajay Vishnoi of seeking sexual favours

Barely had the controversy over Cooperative Minister Gauri Shanker Bisen getting his shoe laces tied by a tribal boy settled down that another senior BJP minister is caught in a row in Madhya Pradesh.

Minorities Affairs' minister Ajay Vishnoi has been accused of seeking sexual favours. Madhya Pradesh Waqf Board officer SMH Zaidi has said that the minister's staff asked him to take his wife along and reach Vishnoi's bungalow. Now Zaidi had approached the High Court in this regard.

Zaidi claims that as he refused to be part of corrupt practices regarding to Waqf property, he was transferred to Naxalites' area. The court had then stayed the transfer. However, government didn't grant him posting and his salary was withheld for two years.

To his complaint, the minister's staffer asked him to bring his wife. Zaidi claims that when he complained to minister in this regard, Vishnoi said that one has to pay for getting things done. Vishnoi's name has cropped up in the past also in cases of corruption.

Clearly, one after the other such controversies are damaging the reputation of the BJP-led government in Madhya Pradesh. Time to worry for Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

MP records huge turnout during Surya Namaskar amid opposition from Muslims, Christians

The Madhya Pradesh government introduced Surya Namaskar in thousands of schools in the state.

The event was held on a large-scale and lakhs of students participated though there was criticism from minorities including Christian and Muslim groups.

The Darul Ifta Bhopal had issued a Fatwa, which termed Surya Namaskar or bowing before sun as un-Islamic and against the tenets of the religion. The Christian groups have also criticised the move and said that it was wrong to hold such events in schools.

But the BJP leaders have played down the controversy. They said that it was voluntary and no one was forced to do it. Congress termed the move as the ongoing Saffron agenda at the behest of RSS that included introduction of Gita chapters in school textbooks and similar other steps.

Was Lokayukta PP Naolekar's photograph morphed?

The photograph that showed Lokayukta Justice PP Naolekar in RSS dress raised a storm.

Congress leader Kalpana Parulekar displayed the photo in the Assembly. She claimed that it was real. But other sources suggested that the face was morphed and superimposed on the photo that was or some other Sangh swayamsevak.

Now the case has reached police. Will it lead to trouble for the stormy petrel, Parulekar, who has been at the centre of many such controversies in the past also.

*Photo courtesy Dainik Bhaskar newspaper

CM's plan to teach Gita in schools faces opposition

No sooner did the Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that Hindu religious text Bhagwad Geeta would be taught in schools in the state, than there has been a strong protest to the decision.

Apart from minorities' leaders, mainstream politicians, educationists, social workers and even religious gurus have said that state should not interfere in education and let it remain secular.

There is a concern that the BJP is trying to appease the majority community just for electoral gains. Senior journalist LS Hedenia has said that it is an un-constitutional decision and after this announcement, Chouhan should quit his post.

Christian leaders have said that if, at all, Geeta is to be brought in the school curriculum, then similarly excerpts from the religious books of other communities should also be added to the syllabus, and not just one religion.

Social activist Deepa Pohankar said that children would get away from schools and thus it is not advisable to issue such an order. Sikh Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee leader Giani Dilip Singh has said that is not proper to ignore kids of other religions who study in the government schools.

[Photo screen shot courtesy: Dainik Bhaskar, November 20]

Flag Dishonour Case: Case, Arrest warrant against Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, later stay granted

A court issued non-bailable arrest warrant against Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and BJP leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj for dishonour of national flag.

A private complained was filed in the court in Nasrullaganj in Sehore. The JMFC issued the warrants against four persons including the Chief Minister and BJP MP Sushma Swaraj.

The two other persons included BJP leader R Bhati and former collector Sandeep Yadav. At a public meeting almost a year ago, a girl dressed as 'bharat mata' had welcomed these dignitaries.

She was carrying the tricolour, which was upside down. The complainant, in his 'istighasa', had also presented photographs of the event that showed flag upside down in the presence of CM and the three others.

The report of the arrest warrant caused flutter in the BJP as a case of insult to national flag had earlier cost Uma Bharti her chief ministership. But to the party leaders' relief, later in the day the stay was however obtained. A sessions court granted stay on execution of the arrest warrants by the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class Zafar Iqbal.

Tainted IAS officer Tinu Joshi's photo on hoarding ruins Foundation Day celebration in Madhya Pradesh

It seems there is no end to controversies for the ruling party in Madhya Pradesh.

On the foundation day, a hoarding created flutter in the state politics. It showed photographs of women who made a name for themselves in different fields.

Ironically, it carried photograph of disgraced IAS officer Tinoo Joshi who along with her husband Arvind Joshi are facing corruption case for amassing wealth worth hundreds of crores.

In place of Nirmala Buch, Tinoo's photo was mistakenly printed. But was it really a mistake or a deliberate attempt to tarnish government's image.

BJP leaders say that this hoarding was put up at the behest of the opposition or some Congress leaders in their individual capacity. Perhaps, it was a mistake by a person who didn't recognize either Nirmala Buch or Tinu Joshi, and Googled but found wrong image search results, and put it up on banner without cross-checking it.

Uma Bharti, Jamuna Devi Subhadra Kumari Chouhan, Gul Bardhan, Shalini Tami Moghe were the other 'gauravshali betiyan' or daughters of Madhya Pradesh on whom people of the state could feel pride. Tinoo Joshi found place in this select group.

BJP leader terms CM, ministers as 'Ghoshna-Vir' or 'Men who Merely Make Announcements'

Report published in Dainik Bhaskar

For the BJP it was a big embarrassment. The state vice-president Raghunandan Sharma called Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, a 'ghoshna-veer' or a person who was master at making announcements only.

Sharma who is a Rajya Sabha MP had attacked party leaders for their failure to rein in bureaucrats. He made teh controversial comments from public stage. The party leaders were red-faced after the news was published and channels aired his remarks. So he meant CM, ministers make tall promises but don't fulfill them.

Now he has been removed from his post and asked to explain his stand. Sharma said that his criticism was positive and he spoke truth, which hurt others but his intention was not to make fun of the party leaders. Shouldn't BJP tolerate criticism and use it for inward looking, introspection and inter-party democracy?

Fraud or Genuine: SpeakAsia.com operations remains a mystery in India

Is SpeakAsia.com a genuine company that really brings a member sudden riches and showers him with loads of cash?

The company entered Indian market recently as a marketing survey group that claims to conduct online surveys for other major mutli-national companies.

The style is the same as employed by earlier chain marketing companies including Amway. But Speak Asia's supporters claimed that it can turn you millionaire within months.

What's the reality? A Hindi newspaper Pradesh Today has recently published a story about the company's operations and it shows that all is not well.

Jobless and unemployed youths find any such chance as a gold opportunity. The company says initially you have to pay a sum to become member. Later you keep filling survey forms and as you bring more members, your earning will increase, rather skyrocket.

But is it the truth. The paper says that it is not so. The dividends aren't as much as SpeakAsia's die-hard fans make us believe. Frankly, filling forms that require no brain, just saying Yes or No to answers, which even a person with Zero IQ can do, at random, is not something that can bring you lakhs.

However, it is the financial ministry, RBI and government of India that should clear the air. If the company is genuinely giving profits and somehow people are earning money without any shady practice, then it should be given a clear go-ahead.

Else, there should be a proper inquiry and action taken against the company if claims are false. The company officials have held press conferences in the recent past. They should be asked for more proof about their claims.

There are thousands in Uttar Pradesh (UP), Madhya Pradesh (MP), Bihar and even Delhi, who feel that the membership will turn their fortunes. Will they even get their basic investment back? The controversy must end and ordinary investor must not be cheated.

Minal Residency targeted, Raj builders' mall demolished in Bhopal

In the biggest anti-encroachment action in Bhopal, the Raj builders' Minal mall was blown up using dynamite.

Hundreds of shops turned into debris within seconds in what seemed more like a targeted action driven by vengeance. The action in Minal Residency was unprecedented.

The question most asked was what was the fault of those who bought the land and shops. The administration hadn't objected when they got it registered and obtained other permissions.

If it was illegal construction, why this huge structure was allowed to come up. Raj Homes is owned by builder-turn-newspaper baron Arun Sahlot.

But if some bureaucrats or sections within the government (and ruling party) were cross with him, the ordinary  citizens who had bought the shops shouldn't have been made pawns in this game. Sahlot's paper was publishing stories and reports that attacked certain ministers and bureaucrats.

No doubt, the paper was irresponsible at times. The issue of an IAS officer, Anurag Jain, whose involvement in the proposed medical college of a Jain trust, had been taken up by the paper as a personal agenda. Some ministers' corrupt practices were also targeted.

But does that justify this action? There is no dearth of illegal encroachment in Bhopal. Raj group has said that it will compensate all the victims. But we will have to see if the promise materialises. The action must have got the nod from the top in the BJP.

One just wished that all other encroachments, be it by political bigwigs or other local strongmen are also removed and razed. Selective action sends a wrong message. Already hundreds of families have suffered hugely, as they had used their lifelong savings to buy a shop but in one go, it all went into air.

St Francis School Bhopal's condemnable step: Missionary school stops Urdu, Sanskrit

In a most unfortunate decision, the St Francis School in Bhopal decided to stop the study of Sanskrit and Urdu subjects.

The illogical decision took everybody by surprise. Saint Francis Higher Secondary School is located in Jehangirabad, a Muslim-dominated locality where there is a sizable Hindu population also.

The school that mostly imparts education in Hindi medium, has attracted students from different communities and it has completed fifty years. But the Christian missionary school suddenly decided that there will be no further classes in Urdu and Sanskrit. Students were told that if they want to study the languages, they can go to other schools.

The order said that as per CBSE guidelines there was no such proposal. Hindu and Muslim organizations have both protested the decision. While Urdu was the state language of Bhopal during the Nawabi rule and continues to be a prominent language, Sanskrit is the classical language and considered sacred by Hindus.

The Sanskriti Bachao Manch, a social outfit, staged a demonstration. Its activists even threatened to launch a mass protest against the highly objectionable and disgusting decision of the convent school. They condemned the conspiracy to deprive students of their culture. Other groups have also termed the diktat to close Urdu, Sanskrit classes as a reflection of communal mindset.

Update: After public condemnation, the school changed its tune. Principal  Brother Lucianus Lakra said that the educational institute would continue Urdu and Sanskrit courses for students, as per 'CBSE guidelines'. Apparently, the decision has been reversed now. One has to wait and see. But the arbitrary decisions that affect hundred of students and their career has shown the institution in poor light.

MP government ordered Christians' religious profiling: RSS' Agenda!

News published in Hindi evening paper Pradesh Today

A State police order that asked police in all districts to conduct a survey about Christians living in the area of jurisdiction of each police station, has led to outrage after the secret directive was leaked and newspaper got access to the document.

The secret letter directed that there should be a survey conducted to ascertain the record of each Christian-run institution, number of students studying in the schools, missionary activity and even Christian households at tehsil level in Madhya Pradesh.

The exercise surprised Christians as policemen approached. Secondly, with Census 2011 over, they got suspicious as they were once again being asked about the population and other data. This time it was forceful and in some cases, the clergymen were threatened by police.

Now that the document came in public, the State government is silent. Top officers say that the police has been directed not to collect any such data now.

But they don't utter a word as to why was such a religious profiling ordered in the first place and on whose directions, it was initiated.

Congress has termed the order as unconstitutional and said that it is part of the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) agenda to hound the minorities in the BJP-ruled state. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has also said that an inquiry would be conducted to find out how this surve was ordered.

Magistrate Vs DIG: Controversy over beacon light in Gwalior

The controversy between DIG Pankaj Srivastava and Railway magistrate Jitendra Singh Kushwaha over the use of yellow beacon light on Kushwaha's car does not seem to end soon.

The CID report was supposed to fix responsibility. Instead, it has put onus on both officers, and in process coming up with a diplomatic sort of report. Firstly, if magistrate was misusing beacon light and there was no number plate on his car, then it was clear violation of rules.

Yes, police do misbehave in many cases. But in this incident, if the magistrate refuses to give the key, what is the option? The solution is that all red/yellow/blue lights should be immediately abolished and banned. No minister, judge, IPS-IAS officer or any flying squad personnel should be allowed to use the 'laal or pili batti'.

Ban beacon lights. Public servants should serve citizens, not rule them. The lights atop vehicles give a message that the person in the particular car or jeep is more important than the rest. This is against the spirit of democracy.

Godman Rawatpura Sarkar caught in land grab controversy

The Tikamgarh district administration has registered a case against self-styled godman Maharaj Ravishankar alias Rawatpura Sarkar for allegedly grabbing 26 acres of land in Jatara in Tikamgarh.

The district administration served notices on Rawatpura Sarkar, urging him to remove the encroachments. But when the notices were ignored, administration decided to take action and the process to reclaim land was initiated. 

Rawatpura Sarkar was termed a land grabber and even an order to send him to jail was prepared, reports Raj Express newspaper. He has been directed to leave the unauthorized and illegal possession of land in Barana village in Jatara in Tikamgarh district.

A fine has also been imposed. A person, Jhumaklal Dangi, had complained to Chief Minister's complaint redressal cell that Rawatpura Sarkar had used his clout to gain control over the land on which cultivation began later.

After the illegal possession, villagers said that 'charnoi' (grazing fields for cattle) land was not left. Collector Akhilesh Srivastava's decision surprised many as politicians, ministers and other influential perosns make a beeline to the godman.

No one is above the law. If religious figures, holymen and clergy persons behave in such manner, tough action is needed. It keeps the citizens' faith in the rule of law. The district administration deserves a pat on its back for the steps.

ABVP activists blacken professor's face, his colleague dies

Another Professor Sabharwal case has now hit headlines in Madhya Pradesh.

Professor Surendra Singh Thakur, who had tried to intervene, when ABVP workers had beaten up a fellow professor Ashok Chaudhary in Bhagwantrao Mandloi Agriculture College in Khandwa, died of heart attack in Damoh.

He was in shock due to ABVP affiliated students' misbehaviour with the professors. After the incident, he told his friends that he was tense and felling unwell.

Thakur went to his hometown Damoh where he dies. His daughter has said that the shocking mistreatment of students and the insensitivity of police was reason for her father's death. The doctors said that he had suffered a massive heart attack. The role of ABVP was similar in the case of death of Professor Sabharwal also.

In the recent incident at Khandwa, the college Principal PS Shastri was also present when the professor was beaten up, hit with footwear and his face blackened. The ABVP alleged that Professor Chaudhary had immoral relations with a girl student, who they claim consumes liquor. Others say that this allegation was false.

BJP plans to change Bhopal's name to Bhojpal!

Will Bhopal become Bhojpal?

Will the State government give assent to the moves afoot by local BJP leaders to rename Bhopal in the memory of Raja Bhoj and change the name of the City to Bhojpal?

Local  BJP MLA Vishwas Sarang is most vocal and is pressing for it. Some other BJP leaders are also pushing for the name change.

Already there is controversy as the statue of Raja Bhoj has been installed in Bhopal. Interestingly, it is erected on the 'burj' that was constructed by during the reign of Dost Mohammad Khan, the founder of the Bhopal dynasty.

Raja Bhoj is said to have ruled this part of Madhya Pradesh nearly 1,000 years ago. The Bhojpur temple near Bhopal is said to be constructed during his rule. With other political parties and local residents flaying the initiative, the controversy is heating up.

Citizens aren't much excited about the proposed change of name, as the word  Bhojpal was not used locally though locals in Madras called their City 'Chennai' and so was the case in Calcutta, Bombay and Bangalore which were known by their present names in local language.

Sex Sting: BJP leader's MMS scandal in Mandsaur shakes party

BJP leader Karu Lal Soni has been caught in an sex sting in Madhya Pradesh. The MMS scandal has shaken the party as images of Soni in compromising situation with a woman have been circulated in the State.

The party has decided to suspend Soni, 60, who is BJP district chief in Mandsuar. He was earlier associated with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad also.

Soni has claimed that he is innocent and has been framed. He told media persons that his rivals have morphed his face to create the pornographic video clip. The incident has badly hit the image of BJP as a party legislator's son was arrested for rape in Mandsaur a day back.

[Note: Though the newspaper carried his photograph, we are being more responsible and have blurred the face.]

Kailash Vijayvargiya says Chambal region known for 'abduction industry'

Senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvergiya shocked the audience at a programme in Gwalior when he publicly said that Chambal region was known for abduction industry.

He even said that it was a matter of courage that the investors have come to the region which is known for kidnapping industry.

Foreign delegates including industrialists from abroad were present in the programme. The fact that the statement came from no one else but Vijayvergiya who holds the charge of Commerce and Industry portfolio in the cabinet further surprised the audience. The function was organised to mark the birth centenary of JK group Lala Laxmipat Singhania.

Food fatwa: Minister's vegetarian zeal shocks business fraternity

State minister Paras Jain's anger upon seeing non-vegetarian food at a programme in Hotel Jehan Numa has surprised business fraternity and citizens.

Jain got upset that how a meeting hosted by the BJP government should have non-vegetarian delicacies. He 'ordered' that henceforth no government function will have any non-vegetarian stuff for the guests and everyone will have to eat vegetarian food.

His anger and outburst stunned the officers. The Food and Civil Supplies minister seems to have forgotten that it is the government which has to lure businessmen and investors from all over the country by repeatedly cajoling them and at investors' summits, liquor is served openly along with non-vegetarian food.

Shouldn't it be a person's choice whether he wants to adopt vegetarianism or non-vegetarian ways? Will his suo-moto fatwa of banning the non-vegetarian cuisines be accepted by the other government departments or it is just a gimmick to attract publicity.

Chief Minister's goof up: Do away with Rajya Sabha

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan stunned audience with his statement during a function in Bhopal on Sunday.

Chouhan said that Rajya Sabha had lost its relevance and persons like Vijay Mallya get entry into the Rajya Sabha through wrongful means. He also said that British had instituted the Upper House of Parliament but it was no longer serving its purpose.

If at all there is need for prominent citizens, artists and intellectuals, then a quota of 25-30 persons should be reserved in the Lok Sabha itself. At the seminar on electoral reforms, Shivraj's utterances surprised the audience.

As a host of top BJP leaders have also failed to win Lok Sabha election and are in Rajya Sabha, the comments were clearly going to unruffle feathers in the central leadership of the party. Also, the statement was against the constitutional body.

Later in the night, Chouhan 'clarified' that he didn't mean that Rajya Sabha had lost its significance. He said that his statement reflected his concern for parliamentary democracy and decorum in the houses. Chouhan said that he respected the leaders of Rajya Sabha and regrets if any other inference was made from his statement.